The Juggernaut Packers, Realistic Clippers Punishments, and Week 2 NFL Picks With Joe House, Jason Concepcion, and Chris Ryan

Summary

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Episode: The Juggernaut Packers, Realistic Clippers Punishments, and Week 2 NFL Picks
Guests: Joe House, Jason Concepcion, Chris Ryan
Date: September 12, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives into three major sports topics with Bill Simmons and his crew:

1. The dominance of the Green Bay Packers after their Thursday Night Football win over the Washington Commanders.
2. The Steve Ballmer/Clippers scandal — how it developed, the media firestorm, and what (if any) punishments the NBA could realistically deliver.
3. NFL Week 2: in-depth discussion and picks for the weekend’s games, plus a candid segment on fantasy football and league gossip.

---

1. Packers as Juggernaut: Reaction to Green Bay vs. Washington

[03:00–20:20]
Speakers: Bill Simmons, Joe House

Key Points

• Packers’ Dominance: Green Bay routed Washington on Thursday night, confirming Bill’s preseason take that Green Bay could be an NFC heavyweight.
• Washington's Struggles: House, a Commanders fan, vents about travel disadvantages on a short week, key injuries, and the struggles of an older roster.
  • “It was a schedule loss...the injury stuff, man. Jaden Reed’s out. Echler looks like he's out. Noah Brown got hurt. ...I hate these early season Thursday games.” — Joe House, [04:58]
• Washington Offense Stalled: Commanders couldn’t run the ball; Packers’ speed on defense suffocated them.
  • “They were trying to do the Eagles slow possession thing, trying to limit the number of possessions... Not how I would’ve attacked the Packers.” — Bill, [07:10]
• Green Bay’s Complete Roster:
  • Jordan Love efficient (15-for-17 first half).
  • Tucker Kraft emerging as a reliable tight end (Bill and House both hit on Kraft prop bets).
  • “...as Schrager said on TV this week, they don’t have a number one receiver, but have a lot of number twos.” — Bill, [08:23]
  • Defense praised for speed and balance: “That defense is as fast as defense. They are. They can get horizontal and they can get vertical…” — House, [09:26]
• Jordan Love as MVP Candidate:
  • Bill highlights updated odds: “Allen is 3-1, Jackson’s +380, and Jordan Love is now 9-1 in the three spot. ...the NFC-leading MVP begetter.” [10:01]
• Packers and NFC Hierarchy: Packers now among the top four Super Bowl favorites.
  • “...Green Bay...all have basically the same odds to win the Super Bowl now.” — Bill, [11:19]
• Washington’s Playoff Chances: House calls it a “jump ball”, projecting 9–10 wins as a hopeful wildcard.
• League-Wide NFC Outlook: Quick rundown of potential wildcards; concern about Jaden Daniels’ ceiling as a franchise QB.

Memorable Quote:
"If you have a tight end with a skill level that Kraft seems to possess and they can run the ball...this is a footprint reminiscent of how the Eagles had their success all last year." — House, [09:05]

---

2. The Clippers/Ballmer NBA Scandal: "So Much Smoke"

[23:00–52:52]
Speakers: Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan (CR), Jason Concepcion (JC)

Key Points

• Ballmer/Kawhi/Aspiration Scandal:
  • Jason: “It’s a suffocating...suffocating in the smoke. Smoking gun? Maybe not. But enough ambient smoke that something untoward happened.” [23:08]
  • CR: Stunned at the absence of any comment from Uncle Dennis or Kawhi.
  • Bill: "If this happened to LeBron or KD or even one of the younger stars…it would be an episode of The West Wing with how they got their response together. With Kawhi, I can’t tell if he’s oblivious or doesn’t care." [25:54]
  • The group riffs on how low-profile Uncle Dennis is, and how his silence has insulated Kawhi.
  • Satirical take: Maybe Kawhi never knew about any of it — “maybe this is like the Billy Joel doc,” Bill jokes, referring to infamous family mismanagement. [37:10]
• How the NBA Handles Punishments:
  • “If you’re going to lower the salary cap, then the deterrents for going over should increase.” — JC, [27:15]
  • On possible punishments:
    • Docking picks hurts fans, not Ballmer.
    • Forcing a sale is possible but would require more “smoking gun” evidence.
    • Most likely: Banish Ballmer from team activities for a period, akin to sports owner suspensions (e.g., George Steinbrenner).
  • Satirical possible outcomes: Ballmer builds the Dome then has to walk away; the franchise is so cursed maybe they just have to move to Seattle.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• "Honestly, it feels very plausible. If you’re a pro athlete, you really aren’t thinking about much other than, like, workout, get ready, what’s the game?" — JC (on Kawhi being in the dark), [38:08]
• “The appearance of impropriety is sufficient. ...You can’t have the thing that they did.” — Joe House, [105:03](recalled at show end)
• “If we have rules, and you really want to enforce them, then clean them up. Or don’t — but don’t punish one to make a show.” — JC, [51:03]
• Reflection on why fans care about these stories:
  • “Are you into sports just because you want to watch basketball, or is it a window into fairness, antitrust, billionaires ruining things...” — CR, [51:03]

Memorable Satirical Bits:

• The “Dennis & Dennis” pot idea (“get MPJ to sign them to his network”); [36:33]
• Movie conspiracy beats (“Who is the Donald Sutherland in this story?”); [40:31]
• Ballmer as stadium-less NBA owner; [45:05]
• “So many generations would have to pass for the Clippers to rival the Lakers”; [36:07]

---

3. NFL Week 2 Picks with Joe House

[60:25–106:11]

Key Points

• Recap of Week 1 Misses: Many close calls; defensive back injuries for the Bears doomed a pick (“If only the game was only 45 minutes…”—House, [61:03]).
• Game-by-Game Analysis:
  • Stay Aways: Jags-Bengals, Niners-Saints (Purdy out, Rattler vs. Mac Jones), Cardinals-Panthers (“never put Kyler in a tease”), Texans-Bucs.
  • Possibles:
    • Titans +5.5 vs Rams (Vrabel bashing: "He's a moron...he doesn't know the rules" — House, [65:13])
    • Jets +6.5 vs Bills: both think the line is 3 points too high; extensive discussion of Fields’ promising play. [67:31]
    • Ravens-Browns: Cincinnati underachieved, Cleveland self-destructed.
    • Falcons +3.5 vs Vikings: Falcons looked strong; House calls the line “ridiculous.” [92:17]
    • Seahawks-Steelers: staying away due to distrust of Seattle’s offense and the coach’s lack of faith. [73:01]
    • Giants-Cowboys: too many injury variables, but line is “too high.”
    • Eagles-Chiefs: Philly favored in Arrowhead; both lean Eagles but wary of Mahomes/Reid.
• Final Picks:
  1. Falcons +3.5: House’s pick, citing line value and potential for backdoor cover.
  2. Jets +6.5: Both agree the game will be close.
  3. Cardinals/Eagles Parlay: Moneyline Cardinals over Panthers + Eagles +4.5 in KC at -114.
  4. Broncos -2.5 at Colts: Bill’s confident pick (AFC West strength).
  5. Patriots +1.5 at Dolphins: Bill argues “Miami shouldn’t be favored over anyone except Carolina”; House likes it if Gonzalez is back. [85:31]
• Fantasy Football Banter: Amusing anecdotes from their guillotine league; House finished first, Bill’s trauma with George Kittle injuries, strategizing fab/bids.
• Brief Return to Ballmer: House reiterates, “...the appearance of impropriety is enough... It looks bad to the other owners.” [105:03]

Notable Quotes:

• "The reason I had it bolded was it's one of my favorite scenarios: the old offensive coordinator knows every little button to push...” — Bill on Bears-Lions, [80:05]
• "I trust Kyler more than I trust Caleb.” — House, on betting QBs [97:00]

---

Miscellaneous Segments

[Throughout; see timestamps]

• Podcast/TV Chatter:
  • "Task," the new HBO series from the creator of "Mare of Easttown," is the crew's latest TV obsession; CR jokes about the show referencing him.
• Future Content Teases:
  • Rider Cup preview coming on “Fairway Rolling.”
  • Prestige TV Podcast upcoming for “Task.”

---

Segment Timestamps

| Topic | Start | End | |---|---|---| | Packers-Commanders Recap, Packers Juggernaut | 03:00 | 20:20 | | Clippers/Ballmer Scandal (with JC & CR) | 23:00 | 52:52 | | NFL Week 2 Picks (with House) | 60:25 | 106:11 | | Fantasy Football, Guillotine League | 102:17 | 104:49 | | Ballmer Scandal Wrap & Aspirations Studio Jokes | 105:03 | 106:11 |

---

Closing Thoughts & Notable Moments

• Bill on Clippers Consequences: “You can’t find Ballmer, he’s worth $150 billion. The huge card would be you have to sell the team... But I think we need a bigger smoking gun.” [44:52]
• On sports fandom: “The older you get, the more you find yourself thinking about the cap, the law, and taxes, and rumors and innuendo.” — CR, [51:57]
• House on NFL picks: “If only the game was only 45 minutes... the last 15 minutes really got us.” [61:03]

---

For listeners and non-listeners alike, this episode is packed with:

• A thoughtful breakdown of why the Packers now look like the NFC’s team to beat
• Sharp (and comedic) analysis of the NBA’s latest off-court mess
• Relatable and well-argued NFL picks — complete with healthy self-skepticism and laugh-out-loud fantasy football digressions

Podcast remains classic Simmons: inside-baseball, stats-laden, but always a bit irreverent and plenty sly about how the business of sports — and being a sports fan — really works.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Cracking open a cold one on a hot summer day is one of the best feelings, but it's even better when it feels like you earned it. Like in a friendly little competition. It's always better when there's something worth playing for. And Michelob Ultra, a superior light beer is a pretty great prize. I would. I mean, I would be all tennis for Michelob Ultras, because that's what I do all summer. Because tennis is an actual sport, unlike pickleball. So tennis, doubles, singles, whatever. Let's play for an Ultra. Fill your fridge with Michelob Ultra this [e-mail] enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2025 Anheuser Busch. Michelob Ultra Light Beer, St. Louis, MO the Bill Simmons Podcast is presented by FanDuel Sportsbook. We're also brought to you by the Ringer Podcast Network, where I had a new rewatchables going up. On last Monday, we did Legend of Billie Jean, an 80s classic. You can find that on the Ringer Movies YouTube channel as well. Watch this video podcast on Spotify next Monday. Pretty big movie coming. Fairly big. Starring Kevin Costner. That's your hint?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You might be able to guess what it is. There's still some good costume movies left that we haven't done. Anyway, that's coming on Monday. The Prestige TV podcast After Task is on HBO as soon as it ends. Me and Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney are doing the recaps. So we had a lot of fun doing the first couple. I've only seen three episodes because we've done all of the recaps for the first three. We watch one at a time. We don't cheat. We don't go ahead because that's not honorable. Anyway, coming up on this podcast at the very top, Joe House and I are going to react to what we saw from Packers Washington on Thursday night. House's team being involved. We had to stick around for that one. Then Chris Ryan and old friend Jason Concepcion are going to come on and we're going to talk about everything we learned about the Ballmer scandal this week, which is really like the biggest, biggest thing that's happened in the NBA in a while, not on a basketball court. And then, last but not least, Joe House is going to come back because we did Ringer 107 for week two. We did not do well in week one. There were reasons for that. We feel good about week two. We're going to go through the slate, go through the picks, and it's all coming up next, we're going to take a break and do Pearl Jam and then House and I on Washington Green Bay. It's the Bill Simmons podcast presented by FanDuel and the NFL is back and they and thank God FanDuel has everything. They got an awesome app. They have SGPs, they have great futures, they have good prop bets, live betting your way Bets clean app. It's great to use. Been using it for a few years. Every time I go back to Boston or any place that has FanDuel and I get to use it, I'm always excited. I'm on an airplane Runway. You done the airplane Runway?

[C]

Yeah, airplane Runway. There should be a button. The Runway.

[A]

I'm on the airplane Runway. I gotta get this in. Get your bets in. Build something bold, make every game feel bigger. Download the FanDuel app or head to FanDuel.com BS to get started. The Ringer committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available and listen to the end of this episode for additional details. You must be 21 plus in President select states or 18 plus in President DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. GAM problem. Call 1-800- Gamble or visit rg-help.com call 1-887-89777 or visit ccpg.org chatinconnecticut paid end all right, recording this. It is 8:30 Pacific time. Just watched Green Bay throttle the Washington Commanders, House's favorite team. And I went to this game and even this season thinking the packers had a chance to be the juggernaut. But it was a big reason why I had them tonight. I bet on them. I attached them to different parlays that some of them we're going to talk about later. But you take care of business on a Thursday night in front of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreet and a national TV audience. When you have a chance to be a juggernaut, did you feel that way as they throttled your team?

[C]

I mean, yes. This was when you sit down in the summer and look at your team schedule and try and plot out what your team's path to wins looks like. This was a schedule loss and I'll just complain a little bit.

[A]

Oh, let's hear it. Oh, I didn't know we were complaining this early.

[C]

This could have been and should have been a measuring stick game for Washington. But traveling to Lambeau, so so Green Bay gets to start the season with two home games against the Lions and the Commanders in a short week for the Commanders. The advantage early in the season is outsized. And the bummer is in addition to, you know, the significant challenge for the team on the road, the injury stuff, man. Jaden. Jaden. Reed's out. Echler looks like he's out. Noah Brown got hurt. Like, I hate these early season Thursday games. This short week, we just put it right in and we're losing important players on both sides because it's just, just too early in the season for this. But you know, we're just. This is old man yelling at windmill kind of bullshit. So I'll just roll with it.

[A]

Counter. I had a great time watching a Thursday night game. You have an old team. That was the fear going in with Washington, along with the regression, all the other stuff. Echo gets hurt today. But this was. This is when you have a bunch of old guys. The fear is the old guys aren't going to hold up over the course of the season. So you've already lost one.

[C]

This is the challenge for this team in terms of its current construction for sure. And Washington was outmatched on both sides of the football. Like, let's.

[A]

That was a problem.

[C]

I'm complaining. But look, Green Bay was the better team. The speed of that Green Bay defense especially. And, and I. We're going to keep seeing this kid Nixon on. What is he. Is he on the left side? He shuts down every receiver that lines up against him. And he was. He played as though he knew Washington's playbook. I mean, Noah Brown got no separation. Nobody could. Jaylen Lane got no separation. Nobody could get any separation against Nixon.

[A]

They basically doubled your yardage until that last drive. They were ahead more than doubled your yardage. It ended up being 404 to 2:30. You're one and three on. On fourth down last year. We're 20 and 23 for the season. So that flipped a little bit. The big thing was you couldn't run the ball at all.

[C]

Nope.

[A]

And over and over again, it felt like it was like third and six, third and eight, third and four, fourth and four, fourth and three, and you couldn't really get it going. I didn't understand the pace. It's not how I would have attacked the Packers. They were almost trying to do the Eagles slow possession thing, trying to like limit the number of possessions in each half. And I actually thought the way when it got into garbage time and they started playing with a little more pace, I probably would have done that. I'm also not sure it was going to matter because you had Jordan Love going. What was he 15 for 17 in the first half. Something like that.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, that's the downside of playing with pace. You turn the ball over on three downs and the defense has been off the field for 45 seconds.

[A]

Right. And then. And love was good. And then Tucker Kraft killed you. Who of course was. I started him in one league and he was on my bench in the other behind Brock Bowers, who has a big red flag in him. I don't know what I was thinking that.

[C]

But our guy Debundo loved Kraft. Gave him out on our Wednesday show with a cousin Sal. Every kind of craft prop. A craft touchdown anytime touchdown. All over it.

[A]

I had that today. I had my FanDuel tweet today. I had the craft anytime TD.

[C]

Well done.

[A]

Plus plus like 2:30, something like that. I guess the one thing with them. So they lost another receiver today. Golden. Golden didn't. Did he not have any. Yeah, I guess he had two rushes, no catches. But they missed him on a long pass. Yeah. But I guess if you're worried about the packers at all, like the longevity of this run, it's just like as Schrager said on TV this week, they don't have a number one, but they have a lot of number twos. Kraft might be like a 1B. Like, I. I don't wouldn't put him in the Bowers Kittle level, but maybe he has a chance to be right on that level below. And then they're running the ball really well, too. With Jacobs was 23 for 84. But it's just a good balance team.

[C]

That's it. That's the key. If you have a tight end with a skill level that Kraft seems to possess and they can run the ball like. There was never a moment where it felt like they needed two or three yards that they couldn't get it. And this is a footprint that is, you know, reminiscent of how the Eagles had their success all last year on both sides of the ball. They're winning in the trenches.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm just telling you, man, that defense is as fast as defense. They are. They can get horizontal and they can get vertical and they rush four and drop three. And Washington had nothing. Zachary didn't get a look, didn't get a target until almost the second half because the middle of the field was consumed by those backers dropping so.

[A]

And you have a guy that can. You have a possession ruiner. And Parsons, that won one of the big plays when he had. He got the sack as he also drew the holding penalty. We have Seven, eight possessions and he might, might ruin to them. You know, we talked about Love a couple times during the preseason and I picked him. I think I picked him in the Futures draft with the cuz at 25 to 1 for MVP and shield did some stuff with him before the year when he was talking about the three tiers of MVPs and how the MVP almost always comes from a 13 or 14 win team, which seems like the packers are headed that way. As I go to FanDuel right now, he's third in the odds. He's nine to one. Allen is three to one and Jackson's plus 380. And then Jordan Love is now nine to one in the three spot. So that makes him the NFC leading MVP. Begetter. But watching the game tonight, it's like, yeah, I could see the case. If he ends up 35 TDs, six picks, the team goes 14 and three. That would be kind of the blueprint. I don't know if anyone, I mean, God only knows what Allen and Lamar have in store for us the rest of the season, but. Well, that would be the case.

[C]

Packers all the way down to plus 7. 50 for the Super bowl and plus 370. The Eagles are first to win the NFC at plus 360. Packers plus 370. So they are in that class. They have put themselves in that class and they deserve it, in my opinion.

[A]

Well, when you say that class, we have four teams. The Baltimore, Buffalo, Philly, Green Bay, all have basically the same odds to win the super bowl now. And they were not before the Parsons trade. They were in the vicinity of, I don't know, the Lions, the Rams, the Niners, teams like that.

[C]

I have a 22 to 1 Green Bay super bowl ticket from, you know.

[A]

The spring One thing, I mean, it's one of the few kind of home teams you feel solid about. I feel like home field advantage has slipped at least a little bit over the years. It's not, certainly not like it was when it was when we were growing up, when you just felt like being home was this incredible advantage. But I do feel like they have somewhat of an advantage. I did this with the Cuz.

[C]

Buffalo and Green Bay. Buffalo and Green Bay, those are your two that I've really stuck.

[A]

I did this with the Cuz. I wanted your take. They go at Cleveland, at Dallas the next two weeks and that Browns game is 10 days rest by week. Bengals at Cards at Steelers on a Sunday night. Panthers Home Eagles, Week 10. Are they going to be undefeated as they head into that week 10 game. Could you see it?

[C]

I think so. If they're healthy. That's always the giant if. But if especially on the defensive side of the ball, they're. They're the only team that could put them in a mode where you end up with something that looks like a shootout that becomes more. Is is the Bengals. Right. If the Bengals get their offense going, it always takes the Bengals a month. So right about that time is when they catch the Bengals. If that Bengals offense gets going a little bit, that, that's. That's the best case I can make. I am too.

[A]

Then you're dumb team. You got Raiders home next week.

[C]

Fine.

[A]

At Falcons, at Chargers. The next two which are games at Chargers looks like a lot harder of a game than it did three weeks ago.

[C]

Yep. Yep. I don't even love at Falcons.

[A]

You. You have at Cowboys at Chiefs later in the year you get the Dolphins in Madrid which is a game that looks a lot more palatable than it used to.

[C]

Just paella for everybody.

[A]

And you have at Vikings, at Giants, at Eagles as the rest of the road game. So the, the road games somehow the Cowboys is the easiest road game of all the road games you have. The rest of those are not easy. So you're one on one. Be honest. Does your team make the playoffs?

[C]

It's a jump ball. I had them at nine or 10 wins. I bet on them to win 10 games. 10 and seven makes the playoffs in either the six by.

[A]

So you're saying it's a jump ball.

[C]

Yeah, I think it's a jump ball.

[A]

Well, you know who agrees with you? Fanduel because they have you a plus 100 to miss the playoffs. Look literally a jump off.

[C]

We see the world the same way.

[A]

Okay, well let's go through the NFC then. What teams are you worried about taking your spots? So let's. Can we just for the hell of it put in Philly and Green Bay as those two?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And the the NFC west winner and the NFC south winner. So there's four. Who were you worried about out of Lions, Minnesota, Arizona.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Chicago, San Francisco Rams?

[C]

Me probably.

[A]

So you. You feel you're in the five to seven range?

[C]

Hopefully. Yeah, exactly. Yes. Rams and Cardinals. This purdy injury makes it such that the Rams and the Cardinals are going to be in the. In the front runner, the driver's seat for the West. And you know, one of those, one or the other should get a spot. I don't. I mean what's Minnesota to make the playoffs.

[A]

To make it.

[C]

Yeah. It's got to be plus odds.

[A]

Well, J.J. had a kid. I don't know. So they're plus 110 to make the playoffs. You're or, I'm sorry, minus 110 and you're minus 120.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And you're minus 122.

[C]

Yeah. Okay. So Washington slightly ahead of Minnesota.

[A]

Listen, we have to have this part of the conversation. I hate to do this to you. Has Jaden Daniels looked that good in either of these games that you watched this year? Giants game or this game?

[C]

Well, I'm trying to answer this in a way that's fair for who this team is.

[A]

How about fair from.

[C]

They threw for 200 yards and rushed for 200 yards in Week 1 against the Giants. That was a game where they controlled the line of scrimmage and it was fine. He hasn't really shown anything in terms of getting vertical. The offense has not gotten vertical. Everything has been yards after the catch. That's why Debo has been so important thus far. And he got that cheap touchdown. Thank God. Debo on my fan Yahoo fantasy team.

[A]

Yeah, he got a lot of cheap yardage near the end.

[C]

Truck stick Joseph collecting Debo yards. Debo oil out there doing.

[A]

But the problem is you're putting him on kickoffs and he's going to get hurt. If you're going to do that, that's an injury waiting to happen. I can't believe they're doing that.

[C]

I can't either. I detest it. I am. I can't say strongly enough how much I dislike that.

[A]

Well, from what I've seen, it's only been two games and he might flip it around the next game. But the case for the Commanders this year was that even though there are all these regression signs, you have an older team and a much harder schedule. This was the year that Jaden Daniels shows that I need to be put in that. Josh, Josh Allen, Lamar Mahomes. If I'm on your team, you're going to win between 11 and 13 games because I'm on your team. And the way he's played the first two games, it has not not looked like he is that guy. But we'll see. It's a long season.

[C]

Yeah. And I don't think, you know, if you're going to try and measure his performance, you have to. This is why I paused so long when you asked the question. The team misses Brian Robinson already. If you need tough yards from a running back, I like Brian Robinson going for those yards. I don't like Bill Crosby, Merritt so far he's, he's tough and Echler got a whole bunch of touches out of the backfield and I, I don't have a good explanation for that.

[A]

His season's over and his season's over. I, it was weird that Kirk and Al. We've seen too many of those Achilles ones.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, right away at this point, I feel like we're not going to miss on a. Whoa. That looked like a torn Achilles. I felt bad for him, but me too. You know, right away they, they fall, they stop. They fall to the ground. They reach for it. You just kind of know.

[C]

He knew.

[A]

Yeah, he knew. So. So you traded Brian Robinson. You have no backup running back now. And I actually liked, I didn't mind Brian Robinson. I didn't really understand that one.

[C]

I mean they have a guy, this guy Chris Rodriguez, but he's, you know, he didn't get on the field in week one. So I guess we're going to see some Chris Rodriguez coming up here. 10 days to get some rest. I mean, honestly, you know what that.

[A]

Sounds like to me, House? We're going to see some Chris Rodriguez here. 9 and 8.

[C]

I just said it. This is. These Thursday games are survive and advance. Like try and minimize how many season ending injuries. Well, it's interesting. I don't like it.

[A]

You go Eagles Week 16 at home on a Saturday, Cowboys Christmas and then you finish at Eagles in a game that, come on. Might mean nothing to the Eagles. That might be like, let's play the third string. Who cares?

[C]

That's the best case scenario for Washington sitting there at eight wins at that point, maybe needing that ninth, ninth win to get into a playoff tiebreaker mode.

[A]

So if you had to guess one seed in the playoffs in the nfc, you would say Green Bay.

[C]

I don't know that I would. Let's see if these.

[A]

Can I give you the odds?

[C]

Let's see the Eagles play the Chiefs.

[A]

Green Bay plus 260 on FanDuel and Philly plus 350.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Rams 7 to 1, 49ers 8 to 1. Get that the fuck out of there. Buccaneers 9 to 1. Vikings 12 to 1. You know, it kind of makes sense is just bet the packers and Eagles.

[C]

Yeah, that's fine. Right.

[A]

One unit on each and you, you hit one of those. Right. Who else is getting the 1 seed?

[C]

Nobody. Absolutely nobody.

[A]

Maybe Minnesota if McCarthy is awesome.

[C]

No, do me a very, very quick favor. Well, I'll do it. I, I don't have to subject people.

[A]

To it to the pot.

[C]

I want to see the Niners to miss the playoffs odds. I want, I want money on that right now. I don't want to wait. I don't, don't wait. I want to rush to the window. I want to get that ticket.

[A]

I already bet that like six months ago. It's plus one 52.

[C]

Great. Done. That's how that's, that covers off the loss. I'm going to take on them to win the NFC west because of that schedule that they have. It doesn't matter if Mac Jones plays however many games it looks like he's going to play. Let me have the Niners to miss the playoffs. That is a take it to the window ticket.

[A]

Well, we broke down the Mac Jones Spencer Rattler matchup much later on the Ringer 107. You're going to take a break. We're going to bring in Chris Ryan and our old friend Jason Concepcion to talk about all the latest bomber news and what's going to happen to the Clippers. And then magically we're going to go backwards five hours to when we did Ringer 107 house. I'll see you in a little bit.

[C]

Can't wait, buddy.

[A]

Thanks, buddy. The Bill Simmons Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. NFL Sunday's coming. You got your crew, your couch, your food, your drinks, whatever you whatever you're up to. We're not going to judge you. Just do your thing. Fando's coming in with something extra. It's your chance to place the perfect parlay, player, prop, whatever floats your boat. Right now, all customers can get a 50% profit boost on any NFL bet and House and I are going to have a lot of suggestions coming up when we do our Ringer 107 segment. However you play your game, FanDuel's got your back with something extra in your account because that's what Sunday should feel like. Visit FanDuel.com BS to download the app and get in on the action. Before kickoff, you must be 21 + President select states or 18 + in President D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration, max wager amount. See [e-mail] Gamprom Call 100 Gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 888-789-7777 or visit CCPG. This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Parents. If there's one thing you deserve to make it easier on yourself, it's back to school season. I know. That's how I feel as well. On UberEats, you can get up to 40% off back to school essentials like notebooks, pencils, calculators. You got lunch boxes to fill. Get discounts on fresh fruit, juice boxes, string cheese, and more. Get everything you need for back to school delivered right to you. Just a tap away in the Uber Eats app. Offer ends September 16th. See app for details. All right. It's an absolute disgrace that this hasn't happened Sooner in the 2000s. It's been a while since this threesome has gotten back together. Two of the stars at Take Hunter, the award winning series of the 2010s, Cris Ryan, and our old friend Jason Concepcion. It's great to see you. It's great to have you back. Listen, you knew it'd be big circumstances to get us all back together. And I hope it's not the last time. This ballmer thing, I just found myself thinking like, man, back in the day, back in the way back, we would have been all over this week after week on NBA desktop. So JC had to get your takes. Let's just, just unleash them. Let's go.

[B]

My take. Well, I'll say this. First of all, it's a lot of smoke. It's a suffocating. We're suffocating in the smoke. Smoking gun, question mark. I think there's enough just ambient smoke that certainly looks as if something untort has happened. And, you know, where are the trees, Bill? Where are the trees? No trees planted as far as I can see.

[D]

So that's the thing, man.

[B]

That's the bottom line, is no trees actually got in the ground. But this is what I have to say. After Kawhi and the Uncle Dennis stuff kind of bubbled to the surface after he left Toronto, ended up in the Clippers after the Lakers complained, after Toronto complained about all these crazy asks that have since come to the surface in a recent Toronto Star article about the wanted shares in the Maple Leafs, this, that and the other, and Uncle Dennis describing a structure that looked very much like what aspiration is. The NBA looked at it and said, okay, carry on. So I just hope that as this investigation continues, how that happened will be part of it. Because I think that that, to me, I like this. That's great. First take, really, that to me is the underrated part. It's the part that we're not talking about. Because if Uncle Dennis then just said, okay, you don't want to do this, I'll go find another taker. And the NBA looked at that and said, okay, well, I guess there's nothing. Seems like speeding ticket type of stuff. And so we're going to carry on. I don't know what happened there, but what happened there seems very important to me. If now this is a problem, that's my take.

[D]

I. I'm ready to hear from Uncle Dennis and Kawhi. I feel like they got Ballmer out there with Ramona. They rolled him out there. We've had multiple Pablo Torre podcasts. Every NBA podcast has been covering this for whatever, 10 days, for a week now. I, I'm kind of stunned. We have not gotten even a no comment from quiet. I mean, if we have gotten one, I, I haven't seen it. And I know he was at the US Open for tennis the other day and I was like, this is amazing. Like, this guy is just like hanging out. I don't know if, if Uncle Dennis rolls with him like that and they go watch Sabalenka, but, like, I'm ready for, I'm ready for like something because actually I feel like the silence from their direction isn't doing anyone any favors on the clipper side right now.

[A]

Like, Dennis, supposedly a huge sinner guy. That's what I heard. He's a big sermon ball guy.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Always the word in the street with him. So, yeah, you're right. Like, if, like, if this happened to LeBron or KD or even like one of the younger stars like Anthony Edwards, this would have been treated, you know, like it was. It was like an episode of the West Wing with how they got their public response. And Kawhi, I can't tell if he's oblivious or doesn't care. Like, which is it that I like? To me, he probably just. Jason, like, doesn't give a shit. He's like, he got his money.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, the check's cleared. I think he's good.

[B]

I think it's a measure and maybe a good lesson for all of us, like how far you can get ability wise, if you just don't say anything ever, if you simply do not speak. He's gotten a lot of mileage out of that. And listen, I would love to hear from Uncle Dennis, whose voice I could not, like, recognize from Adams.

[A]

I don't know what he looks like. I don't know if I've ever seen a picture of him.

[B]

I've seen one blurry picture of him that looked like a mob photo. Like, they took that, like the FBI took, like outside of the Bergen Hunt and Fish Club. Like, in the 80s from like across.

[D]

The street, Captain Ramius in Hunt front over. They're circling pictures of him in the back. That was a hint, Bill, but I.

[B]

Would love to hear. Yeah, I would love, I would love to hear from him more. But moreover, again, I kind of feel like, listen, the second apron era, right? You've got teams looking in the couch cushions for money. You've got free agents sitting on the sidelines wondering, like, when am I going to get signed? If the money is being restricted by the rules to a, to a ever increasing degree, my opinion is the deterrence should also, like, if you're going to, if you go, hey, the speed limit is now 30, but don't put a cop on the side of the highway every once in a while, then what does it really matter, right? I kind of feel like the NBA needs to look in the mirror just a little bit and be like, what are we doing to dissuade this from happening? Because now this type of like the owner's jet, the owner's beach house, kind of free perks. I think you could argue that stuff matters more now in this era.

[A]

Well, don't leave out the. Let me tell you about this investment. Get in on this early. Tell your guy. Because I think that's the number one thing that's happened over the last few years. You talked about all the smoke. It just made me think like, let's say I had a 17 year old son, by the way, I'm not saying this is the case, but let's say I had a 17 year old son on a bad path. And every time I walked into his room, it was like the days, that confused scene when all the people are in there and it's just like incense is going. It's like, hey, dad, what's up? And that's just happening over and over again. And I just choose not to see it. And then one day the police is there because there's just bales of marijuana in my garage that I had no idea. That's Jason's basically saying, that's Adam Silver right now. There's been incense just burning nonstop and this is now we're at the bales of marijuana stage. Cr.

[D]

Do you guys think that there's anything to the. We're in such a different era now, honestly. I mean, obviously, like, I think about the Colangelo story when this is happening just because of the unconventional way in which it came to light. Obviously Pablo is doing like a very different kind of thing with his podcast in terms of like how he's parceling out information how the reporting is kind of happening in real time with him. But you watch the reporting side of it, and you watch the reaction side of it, and it's so, like, kind of almost. It's like the way people are speaking are very. Is very, like, human. Very, like, everyday speech, like, hey, this is happening. This is happening. Pablo's obviously very buttoned up. But then you have the responses from Ballmer and the league that are very like, well, we're just gonna have to let the investigation see where it leads, and it's just gonna take its time. I heard Howard and Zach talking today on Zach's podcast where it was like, this might take until next spring. I'm like, people aren't waiting until next spring. Yeah, you guys have to stop talking like lawyers. Like, the only thing you can pray for is that we get bored and something else happens. Because otherwise, this is the only thing people want to talk about with league right now. And you can't just be like, ah, these. This law firm's just going to have to do its due diligence and it's just going to take nine months. People don't like that anymore. People don't use that. Take that as an excuse. I wonder how long they can use that.

[A]

Maybe jc, maybe a Friday news dump. Like, right as the two College Football Playoff semifinal games are starting.

[D]

By the way, Ty coaches.

[A]

Sneak that in.

[B]

I will say Silver's comments outside of the governor's meeting did not lead me to believe there was a hammer about to be dropped anywhere in the offing. Like, it really felt like, hey, guys, Burden's on us. Like, we gotta look. And it's tough to look for this stuff. And, you know, we love due process here. We're gonna let this investigation go where it leads. Again, I would be shocked if they come down, like, super hard. I think at this point, even despite the amount of smoke. Like, remember, the Joe Smith thing was like, they found a piece of paper that was literally like, hey, don't forget, we have to illegally pay Joe Smith. Okay? We have to do that tomorrow.

[A]

All the figures were on it. The whole thing. Yeah. No, it's. So the report that. That Paabo had today, it was just more smoke. It was more like, huh? And it's just a. It becomes a question of how many coincidences are you going to accept before you're like, all right, come on, guys. Because what they did with this one, with the latest report about how the minority owner had funneled 2 million to this company Right. As they're laying off a whole bunch of people. Right. As Kawais do a money figure that's just slightly under that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So he doesn't do the exact figure. It's just a little more. And then it's the same thing with the Ballmer with the puts in 50, right as Kawhi is getting the 28 plus the 20. And it's, like, just a little tilted off, but not totally. This is how you would do it if it was like a bad sports movie that we were watching, which is why I think this has gotten progressively funnier as the. As the two weeks have gone.

[D]

It's also. It kind of feels a little bit like any. Any, like, great piece of conspiracy text, like, you think about, like, the movie JFK or something like that, where it. It's more of, like, a contagious idea that it seems like I don't. I have. I really not. Not only do I not know, I also don't have a dog in the fight, but it seems like something. I could see people beneath Ballmer on the org chart kind of freelancing a little bit more than I can see Ballmer doing it. And it's not because I have any, like, great admiration for Farmer out of whack with anybody else. It's just like, I wonder whether this is like, the person who was implicated today in Pablo's reporting was this guy Dennis Wong, who's a minority owner in the Clippers, but a college old. College college roommate.

[A]

A for Dennis.

[D]

Dennis.

[A]

Dennis.

[B]

Yet another Dennis.

[A]

Dennis's kids are like, dad, wait.

[D]

Don't give away a free pot idea. Dennis and Dennis. I mean, coming from.

[B]

I can't wait. Dennis and Dennis. And then who is, like, the guy who is the backwards cap guy who sits there and goes, wow, that's so crazy. Dennis.

[A]

Exactly. Need a third Dennis.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

But, yeah, I think that there's something to this idea of perhaps this wasn't a conspiracy as much as it was a Series of Unfortunate Events, but that might not matter in terms of the judgment. Do you think, Bill, that part of the reason why nobody really knows what to do or at least, like, how to feel about this is because unlike, say, a Sarver or a Sterling.

[A]

All right.

[D]

I don't know, maybe even the fact that this is, like, not demonstrate.

[A]

Mike's Bomber. Yeah.

[D]

Everybody's just like, that guy built a cool stadium in the All Star Games there, and he gets up on stage and screams, developers. And he's freaking out at, like, you know, charging calls, and he seems like, he really likes basketball. And once, like, there's part of. I wonder whether or not it's like, yeah, but he seems like, what's he. What's he done to hurt the league is. Is. Seems to be an issue here.

[A]

Well, and then you have on top of it. So the two biggest scandals since Donahue were both Clipper scandals? Yes, the. The whole Sterling v. Stiviano catastrophe that like, submarine the 2014 playoffs, basically, and then this. And they're both Clipper related. And it's just like, I mean, when I wrote my Curse of the Clippers column for page two, it was 2009, it was Obama's first year of his presidency, and I listed 40, 33 years of Clipper shit. And now that. Think of all the other shit that's happened since. I don't know, J.C. they might just have to move. Like, this could be the final piece where maybe they just have to go to Seattle and we just call it a day with the LA Clippers.

[B]

I mean, that would be an amazing outcome, I think, for everyone. I'm left wondering, like, to your point, and again, I'm not saying that Bomber or Dennis. Other Dennis. Dennis Wong knew anything, but if they did, do you think they are wondering, man, why did we let it go bankrupt? That was the. That's the rookie mistake.

[A]

Oh, why didn't he just fund it?

[B]

Yeah, you got to keep aspiration on its feet. If it's truly like this money laundering vehicle that you hope. Yeah, I mean, there's. To your point, there's too many things. And I think that also, like, how many generations would actually need to pass for the Clippers to truly establish themselves, like, as an equal rival to the Lakers in this city? Like, how many years would have to go by?

[A]

The ship has sailed. I mean, the ship sailed a long time ago. It's the same thing for the Nets and the Knicks.

[B]

Yeah, that will. It would have to be like 50 years of the Nets kicking the Knicks ass. Like, it would have to be that.

[A]

And then the knicks could go 43 and 39 once, and it'd be like.

[C]

The Knicks are back.

[D]

Yeah, the Nets do a full identity change, like every six months. Like now they have like, like, hey, guys, Michael Porter Jr. Is our mouthpiece.

[A]

We have five first rounders. They all need the ball.

[D]

I want MPJ Jr. To weigh in on, you know, like, I want MPJ to, to weigh in on. On Uncle Dennis and Kwai.

[A]

Honestly, a. A, A budding podcast star. He was coming in hot over and over again.

[B]

MPJ should sign Dennis and Dennis to his network.

[D]

Podcast network.

[A]

Yeah. I. I'm gonna give you my. My hottest take of this whole scandal. And it's. I'm not saying I invented it, but I actually believe it might be true. But it's also crazy. What if Kawhi just never knew about.

[D]

Any of this and it's just all Dennis.

[A]

Dennis freelanced this. I. The smoking gun for this theory is Kawhi doesn't want to do any work. He doesn't want to have to do anything. Flip this around. Why would they be so determined to not have Kawhi do any work? Like, it's actually easy to go film an ad for an hour. It's easy to do like five tweets a year. This is more like Kawhi's not going to do anything. Or is this understood? It's got to be. He gets paid to do work that he didn't actually do. Almost like when you're watching a movie or a TV show from the 70s or 80s and the guy has the fake job. And I wonder if maybe they constructed it that way so that Kawhi never knew about the money. Yeah. And. But by the way, how many family members are like the fucking Billy Joel doc that just happened. His brother in law just stole $30 million from him. Like, I just. I'm not ruling it out. I'm not ruling out anything. Jason.

[B]

I. That is. I have not heard that before. But honestly, it feels very plausible. Listen, if you're a pro athlete, you really aren't thinking about much other than work out. Get ready. What's the game?

[D]

What's the Michael Porter. You're thinking about a lot of stuff.

[B]

There's other. Yes, yes, clearly there's, there's, there's the exception that proves the rule occasionally. But this is a fairly convoluted scheme and it would not surprise me that, like, that's why you have a team. Like when you're at that level, you have people that their job is just go out and find me opportunities, put it in front of me, I sign the thing. And that's. Would not surprise me at all.

[A]

That's what CR has.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If this was the Law and Order episode, that would be the big twist at the 48 minute mark that he had no idea they'd realize that Kawhi actually had no idea this was ever happening in the first place.

[D]

The sort of confusing element of this is the reporting about like the. How the. The company had a series of like Colombian media stars who they were essentially like Acting as, like a laundering, like they were money laundering, where they would send them. You, I send you 50 grand, you send me back 55 or what. Whatever it is.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And so, like, there are. There's obvious elements. I just don't think that the way. If that's the case and if this whole thing is a Ponzi scheme that had participants who were, like, putting in and taking out money, they're not doing a great job. Ballmer just being like, I was defrauded. These guys were frauds is not up to the level of detail of Pablo's reporting. Like, he needs to be even more detailed in, like, hey, look, here's. Here's where I was on these days, and here's my communications, and here's what Kawhi and I talked about. And honestly, I was joking when it first started, but this is where somebody on the Kawhi side would be helpful to Ballmer to be like, our relationship with this company had nothing to do with Steve Ballmer and had nothing to do with me staying with the Clippers. You know, it's weird that he has not said that. It's weird that nobody has said that.

[B]

I would not be surprised. Going off your theory, Bill, if Uncle Dennis ends up being a fall guy in this.

[A]

Oh, so. All right, let's stay with that for a second. All three of us love watching movies all the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who is The Donald Sutherland JFK character of this for you, C.R. who emerges from the woodworks?

[D]

It's whoever this person with like the. The modulated voice and, you know.

[A]

So it's a vp. Yeah. It's not somebody on the inside with the, with the Clippers. No, that's because usually in these movies, it's usually.

[D]

Oh, so you think it's like Lawrence Frank is meeting Pablo in the Washington Monument?

[A]

Not initially. Not initially. Who's the guy who's like, Pablo, you're close, but now you have to follow the money. But it's always somebody who either where maybe it's somebody who works for the Lakers. It's somebody who's around the mix, but not totally. What if it's a county junior?

[B]

Exactly, because here's my JFK conspiracy theory about aspiration that this thing is like a. It existed as like a money laundering Grand Central Station that served multiple properties looking to both launder and receive money. And that Ballmer and Wong were just one of several clients that used this Grand Central Station to send money around. And so I think, Because I think it's not clear to me how like I, I, the CEO went to jail or was like faced federal charges and I think it's about this stuff like it's clearly there's other, there's a larger piece of the iceberg than just the Clippers piece of this Bill.

[D]

Early on in this process, Cuban came out. Mark Cuban came out and yeah, while he is no longer the owner of an NBA team, he still is pretty, pretty defensive of Ballmer and the Ballmer at least if not the Clippers. Do you think it's notable that we haven't had a lot of other public offers of support from the other NBA owners?

[A]

Well, here's the problem. The Clippers are good, right. I mean they, they took Denver to the brink. I actually thought they conceivably could have won that series and they were probably the fourth best team in the league last year. So if I'm any of the other teams that are good, I'm like this is great. I was worried about the like think about during the summer people were saying they were the big winner of the summer with free agency. So I'm sure around the league people are delighted by this. I like when you know, some of the stories have talked about how furious other teams are.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

That this is a breach. Get the fuck out of here. That's how I half the league does this. I wish I could say 10% of the shit that I've heard over the last 20 years about all the shit that everybody does. It's unbelievable. Nobody, everything you think is happening is happening. Just period.

[B]

So I love that idea that I, the honest owner am sick of this. And by the way, I the again the honest owner who in the, in the business, non sports business world and the most like hard nosed gladiator, like kill your like dog to get an edge in a business deal. The one thing I'm scared of is Adam Silver docking me three second rounders. I'm terrified of it, guys.

[A]

Yeah, I don't want to get fined. I'm a multibillionaire. Oh, oh, they're coming after me.

[D]

I was kind of hoping that Ballmer was like when he was doing the Ramona interview that he was like what.

[A]

You going to do, Adam? Let's go. Well, so everyone's been talking about punishments with this and I've been thinking about this a lot. They could dock them four or five first round picks. You're almost punishing the fans more than more than the owner and the team. Right. You're just like basically destroying basketball in some way for dozens of fans. Yes. You can't find Ballmer. Yeah. For dozens of. You can't find Ballmer because he's worth $150 billion. The, the, the, the. The huge card would be the you have to sell the team. Which I haven't heard anyone mention. But they did that with Sterling. They made him sell the team. And if they find like let's say, let's say all this shit is true. All the smoke that from. From the different Pablo pods, some of the other reporting. And this is true. And they did this.

[D]

I think this is how Kawhi agreed to stay with the Clippers is if they circumvented the cap and gave an extra $48 million.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They, they prove it. I think they could make him sell the team because they did it to Sterling.

[D]

You know what would be dope is if he was like cool, I'm taking the Dome with me. We're turning it into a roller skating rink. Like and now like there is no, there's no, there's no Clippers home. Nobody gets to buy that.

[A]

I'm buying the LA Kings. We're just going to have hockey. But I do think he. It's within his. You know we always heard that you couldn't make an owner sell. But they did make Sterling sell. Now he had to agree to so. But they put, they all put so much pressure on him. He had to do it. I don't think that's out of thing that I. I think we need a bigger smoking gun than what we have though. Jason.

[B]

I agree. And there was also the wrinkle with the Clippers where his wife had control of it for some other.

[D]

Oh yeah, I forgot like tax evasion.

[B]

Reason that Sterling was doing so that.

[D]

So that she was planting trees as well.

[B]

So that they convinced her it was really like they got her to do it.

[A]

That's why she has mid court season tickets still.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

No, seriously, that was one of her things.

[B]

I think there's almost no chance that they make him. I think I would not be surprised. Really.

[A]

You go.

[B]

No chance that they sells it. I think they banish him. I think that. I think you see Silver go, you have to be a governor.

[D]

But he doesn't have to sell it or something.

[B]

And you have to stay away from the team and all of its facilities for like a year or two years or something.

[A]

So there's history of that in different sports. That happened to George Steinbrenner. This has happened over the years where somebody's like, you're out for a Year. In this case, he could say to Ballmer, like, we find you guilty. You're fine. Four first round picks, and you cannot be around the Clippers for five years. And I mean, who enjoys going to a basketball game as an owner more than. More than Balmer? Like, that would seriously kill it.

[B]

He just built the Intuit Dome too.

[D]

I'm like, balmer's at this Pacers Clippers game on like a Tuesday.

[A]

I was watching him during the playoff games. Nobody is more into, like, it's almost like the way you would be if you're watching your kids play sports or something. Like, he's like five times beyond that. So I think that is one level.

[D]

For when the season, as the season approaches. And does this feel like they have an unfair competitive advantage to you? Like, do you feel like this is like the Astros, like, you motherfuckers?

[A]

I actually, yeah, I don't. I don't. I personally don't think that you don't either, Jason.

[B]

No, no. The rules are so strict now, basically because of Bomber, because of anxiety around him and his ability to throw his wealth around that you really can't move. Use your leverage, your money in the way that you used to be able to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And to Bill's point, it feels like there's so much ambient gray area stuff happening around the edges that I really don't feel like they have some massive advantage is no one's scared of the Clippers in that way, except maybe the other owners who are terrified of Bomber's wealth. But it feels like that's been neutered to an effect.

[D]

I wonder how it'll feel like when we're in. We get to, like, November and they're getting asked about this every single day after every single practice, or if they are, you know what I mean? Like, whether. Whether there's like media scrutiny that approaches deflate gate or something like that. And there's like people in. In tylose face and Kawhi's face, and if it's not Kawhi, it's Harden or whoever. And they're like, hey, well, like, what do you think about this? Do you think it's fair this. Do you read this? What's your comment on that? Whether or not that becomes just too much for the team and they have to, like, I mean, you know, like, make. Make a more declarative statement or something. I don't know. But it'll be really interesting to see how this plays out as both a media story and whether, like, Pablo keeps finding stuff and other People keep finding stuff, and there's more digging into this company or whether it kind of is like a lot of modern media stories where it's like, it feels like it's the biggest thing in the world for six days, and then it's like balloon boy, and everybody forgets, you know, and will we. Will we be watching the Clippers and just be like, oh, yeah. And then there's that weird thing with quiet, right?

[A]

Yeah. And they're going to get asked about this. Adam's going to get asked about this. Anytime he does a press conference is going to be the first thing. Like, I was trying to think, like, if Stern had been in charge, because the Donahue thing was one of Stern's greatest moments, where they. They got a whiff of that there was some FBI investigation brewing, not just with Donahue, but, like, potentially other refs.

[C]

And he.

[A]

They. There's some pretty good evidence that he probably leaked something to the New York Post to get it out that there was this investigation happening. So then they basically, there's nothing more that could happen with the investigation because everybody knew about it. I think Stern, in this case would be moving swift and fast to not let this overshadow. Yeah. You're starting this new season with Amazon, with NBC. It's this complete reboot. All this money coming in the league, these new partners that are supposed to be more positive, and you have this crazy story. But I'm with cr. I don't think competitively, to me, this isn't, like, that much different than letting your best player use your private plane 40 times during a year with all his buddies or giving people season tickets for every game that really the team is paying for. There's so many gray areas to this. This is more just stupid.

[B]

It's an issue of science and less of what actually happened. An outcome that I would find unsatisfying is they Ding Bomber and the Clippers fairly for whatever. And then we are all left with the feeling like everybody else just got away and this is still happening on some level that's less than this. If we have rules and we have rules, and if you really want to enforce them, then clean them up. Or don't, but don't.

[D]

Like, this is where you get into. Like, why are you into sports, though? Like, are you into sports because you're just like, I want to watch basketball, and, like, I have. Like, my life is full, and at the end of the day, I just want to watch a game. Or are you into sports because it's a window through which you view the world and fairness and competitive balance and antitrust and billionaires ruin everything. Tax rules, all this stuff and Moneyball and, like, the edges that guys are using. It matters to you. And I mean, you know, like, I feel like my entire life, like, you start out and you're a kid and you're just like, this is amazing. These guys are gods. I'm gonna watch these games for the rest of my life. And then the more and older and older you get, the more you find yourself thinking more about the cap and the law and taxes and rumors and innuendo and stuff like that. It is kind of an interesting litmus test for why you watch sports.

[A]

Well, if Kawhi didn't know anything about this, which I, again, I cannot rule out, it would be interesting if he got. Was about to get suspended and then came out and said, I didn't know anything about this.

[D]

Oh, if he. If he goes, he'd have to, like.

[A]

Proactively throw Uncle Dennis. Because if this was a movie, Kendall.

[D]

Roy, he does the press.

[A]

Yeah. If this was a movie or TV show, at some point, he would. Yeah.

[B]

He was a malicious force behind the scenes, corrupting everything he touches.

[A]

Yeah. So we'll see. All right. Any last takes before we move on from this? Because I had one more question for you. Go for it.

[D]

Every day there's going to be another shoe to drop. So I feel like you just got to wait.

[A]

Well, the one today made me think, this is.

[B]

It doesn't look good.

[A]

This is in the court of by house law. I don't know if I could really make excuses.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's funny because some people in my life are like, well, you probably don't want it to be true. You're a Clipper fan. It's like, I have Clipper tickets. I'm a Celtic fan. If they did break the law in the NBA, they should be punished for it. I don't know what the punishment should be because we've never been here before. Jason, what NBA storyline are you least looking forward to this year beyond this one?

[B]

What am I least looking forward to? Yeah, gosh, I am least. I'm kind of dreading just the devastation of the East. I am dreading how lopsided this season certainly appears it's going to be in terms of the power balance between its conferences. Listen, east has been the weaker conference for what feels like my entire adult life at this point. Yeah. But this season, it's feels like it's really going to be crazy. And I'm not looking forward to that.

[A]

How about you, cr. On a personal level, maybe I don't have to ask you.

[D]

I'm. I think that, like, I saw a picture and it was like I was scrolling fast, but it was like a picture and it's like Embiid is practicing without a knee brace. And I. I was like, you sons of bitches. Just when I thought this heart didn't beat. And I was like, I have no idea when this picture is from or who the report was from, but I fully believe this. I am not looking forward to the will he or won't he with him this year?

[A]

What else am I not looking forward to? I. I have the Tatum.

[D]

I'm not looking forward to this moment where it feels like the NBA in like, five years is going to probably be different. And it's like, is this going to be like the. One of the last couple of seasons of, like, the Pelicans and like, just like watching like, some of the dead weight of the NBA and watching some of the stuff that doesn't quite work anymore? I was thinking about the. That the other day because of, like, the expansion or not conversation. Does that mean teams are moving? I feel like the. The way things were going at the end of the season with, like, the Memphis stuff, it was just kind of like a bummer. And I wonder whether or not that's going to keep. Keep going with, like, the way. The way the media talks about the. The league affects the way people feel about the league.

[A]

Mine. Mine is just the Tatum roller coaster that I'm about to go on.

[D]

Bill, come on, man. He's just not going to play, dude.

[A]

I know.

[B]

Don't. Don't believe that he tore. He might go. Yeah, hold on. Like he's Wolverine or something with it.

[D]

Jalen have like, a crazy. Yeah, crazy year. Enjoy it for what it is.

[A]

I don't know if you noticed or you know about how fast he had the surgery after the injury.

[D]

I do, But I also noticed within.

[A]

10 hours, he's four months ahead of schedule. I don't know if the Celts hang around. I do feel like it's going to be. I just don't even want to go there. I don't want him to play this year. But if they're like 26 and 20 and shooting a bunch of threes and all of a sudden they're a four seed and they have the shots of him scrimmaging, I know I'm going to get sucked in and I'm not. Not looking forward to it. The other one. I I just trying to figure out how LeBron is going to handle this season where he's clearly not the center of attention anymore as a Laker. If there was an athletic story this week about Luka, how great he looked at Eurobasket and it's changing how the Lakers feel. And just seeing LeBron pushed to the side like this, how he's going to handle it from a getting stuff out standpoint, I just think is going to be, you know, at some point you gotta be Nicholson and the Departed and just like steal some scenes. But this is Leo and Damon's movie and just. Just be happy to steal some scenes. And I just don't know if he's wired that way.

[D]

Who's the demon in this? Is that Austin Reeves? Like, who are we? Who, like, he's still.

[A]

Yeah, Fuck yeah, it's Austin Reeves. What do you mean? How dare you? Yeah, so those are probably my two. All right, what's. What's your favorite TV show you're watching right now?

[B]

Jc oh, wow, that's a good one. I'm doing a Deadwood rewatch, but I think the studio was my favorite show that was on recently. New show.

[A]

Interesting. Yeah, I know. CR's CR is all I know they made tasks for him. Yeah, an AI machine made task. Brad Inglesby just made it for Cross.

[D]

As a society was worth it when.

[A]

They had in the third episode. I don't want to spoil it, but there's. The guy has a flyer's phone cover one of the characters and I was like, they're just like fucking with CR now.

[B]

I hope that there's a moment where like one of the characters talks about a CR clip from a pod. That would be incredible.

[D]

You see this guy, he's got a lot of great ideas.

[A]

He starts talking about take Hunter. All right, Concepciono, great to see you.

[B]

Great to see you.

[A]

Pleasure as always. Cr, Great to see you as always. Thanks for popping on. I appreciate it. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Having insurance isn't the same as having State Farm. It's like expecting the leadership of a team captain on the football field, but getting a sea captain. Sure, they're both captains, but who's going to run your offense? You wouldn't settle for just anything for your team, so don't settle for just any insurance. When it comes to getting the help you need, State Farm is the real deal. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats Parents. If there's one thing you deserve to make it easier on yourself. It's back to school season. I know. That's how I feel as well. On Uber Eats, you can get up to 40% off back to school essentials like notebooks, pencils, calculators. You got lunch boxes to fill. Get discounts on fresh fruit, juice boxes, string cheese and more. Get everything you need for back to School delivered right to you. Just a tap away in the Uber Eats app. Offer ends September 16th. See app for details and now it's time for Don't Settle, a new segment presented by our friends at State Farm. You may think that insurance is all the same. Let me tell you, having insurance isn't the same as having State Farm. Don't settle for just any insurance. When there's State Farm, it's like take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Seem pretty set at receiver, right? Mike Evans, future Hall of Famer Chris Godwin's coming back later this month. They had Jaylen McMillan. Didn't seem like they needed to draft a receiver. Well, what do they do? They had the 21st pick. They drafted a Mecca Egbuca from Ohio State and by the end of August, he was a team captain. He was a fantasy football darling. He caught two touchdowns in the first game and helped them beat Atlanta and is looks like he's going to be this year's Michael Thomas Jr. And the whole point of this is that Tampa Bay did not settle. They're like, you know what, let's beef up receiver. This guy's great. Let's add him to the group. You wouldn't settle for just anything for your team on the football field. Shouldn't it be the same for your insurance? Don't settle for just any insurance when there's State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. All right. As promised, we traveled back in time to do Ringer 107 picks on Thursday afternoon. Joe House is in an undisclosed location sitting in a big chair. It looks like he had a couple drinks at dinner. It's like a little buzzed House, which I think we needed. Cause we went one in four in ringer one. Hundred and seven. You know what? I look back at the picks last week. House, no regrets.

[C]

I'm in the same boat as you. I think we we had the right analysis. We were on the right sides. The only game honestly that I regret is the Chargers.

[A]

And because we we messed with Brazil, which we're never doing again. But we lost on the lost in the Falcons. They completely outplayed the Bucks. The Bucks were incredibly lucky to win.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

And then we had the Ravens, which was the right pick. I would do that a hundred times out of a hundred, so.

[C]

Me too.

[A]

Listen, I'm not going to make excuses. I'm not going to apologize. And we lost the Bears on Monday night and at halftime I thought when that pick six happened, I thought that game was over.

[C]

If only the game was only 45 minutes. That the last 15 minutes really got us in that Bears game.

[A]

Well, let's go through. We're going to bounce back. I'm not worried at all. Yeah, we've always. I have a good process. Week two. Yeah, I'm going to do the stay aways first. Jaguars plus three and a half at the Bengals. Two bad offensive lines, two bad defenses. There's backdoor potential. I don't want to bet on Jacksonville. I. This is a complete stay away to me. You agree? Correct?

[C]

Absolutely. Because we don't want to bet on Jacksonville and Jacksonville is the correct side. In view of the history of the Bengals in the first couple of weeks of a season, did their defense show us anything by virtue of what they did against the Browns? I don't think so.

[A]

So let's stay away the next one. Niners, Saints, where you have that line, has dropped three and a half points because Brock Purdy's out. Spencer Rattler 0 and 7 in his career versus Mac Jones, 4 and 19 in his last 23 starts. I would lean sates, but if it's okay with you, I'd like to move on.

[C]

It's a hilarious game. I did bet on the Saints when the number was, you know, in the four and a half, five and a half range or at the beginning of the week. Not because I thought that Purdy was going to be hurt, but just because I thought the Saints were pretty goddamn lively. It's the Cardinals.

[A]

I agree. I thought they. I agree with you. They were not bad and they had a chance to win the game.

[C]

But we are not, we are not gambling on this game this week.

[A]

No Cardinals, Panthers. There's some money line potential with this. The Cards are favored by six and a half. This goes back to the let's never put Kyler Murray in a money line or a tease, which I just think is a good rule for life. The only caveat here is the Panthers were the worst team in week one and I don't see a lot of signs that that's going to change going forward. They're low on receivers. They've had some, some. Some injuries already. Their defense looks awful and it's going to be hard to talk myself out of this. And yet I'm going to talk myself out of it.

[C]

I came this close to showing up for today's show and trying to argue to you that we should get on the Cardinals lay the points because that Panthers run defense is as horrendous as we imagine they have. They didn't improve one lick and for the Jaguars to run all over them. This Cardinals run offense is good. This is a top 10 run offense. So. But the problem is the look ahead for this game was four and a half. Now it's six and a half. Just can't do it. I mean there is.

[A]

And the Cardinals almost lost to the Saints or at least it was almost a tie game going to ot.

[C]

There's even a great revenge argument to be made the Cardinal. The Panthers beat the Cardinals down the stretch last year, 36 to 30 in his shootout. And it really had an effect on, on the Cardinals making the playoffs. But I don't want to do it.

[A]

You know why it had an effect? Cause it knocked them out of the playoffs.

[C]

It knocked them out of the playoffs.

[A]

That actually scared me for this because if like the Panthers ultimate Nobody believes in us looked the worst out of anyone last week. But then has the belief of hey, we beat these guys in December. Come on. I'm staying away. Okay, Tex. Texans, Bucks. We're still not back for the Bucks. I thought the Bucks on the one hand, I do still like them as a playoff team, but I really thought they were lucky in a variety of ways last week against the Falcons. And yet Houston can't block Texans favored by two and a half at home. And I just, I don't want any part of it. We can move on.

[C]

Let's go.

[A]

The possibles. Titans, Rams. This is Titans at home plus five and a half. The Rams have some middle of the offensive line injury stuff. Tennessee arguably could have beaten Denver. They were right there. They got a bunch of turnovers that Pollard had a big fumble. I didn't think they played that bad. They, they, they don't have Latham at right tackle. And the Rams, you know, they had 14 points last week. I, I looked at this long and hard and I just, I couldn't get their house.

[C]

Well, here's the thing. I, I share your sentiment. I think the Titans are super live and I think that that five and a half is like two and a half points too many. If you want to say Rams by three, that's fine. But here's the problem. That goddamn coach for the Titans is a moron. He is who we thought he was. We came into this season like, well, look, the Titans are lively. Do we want to get on their futures? Well, here's the limiting factor. The coach might be a moron. He proved it beyond a reasonable doubt. This goddamn guy gave the Denver Broncos a touchdown. They lost by eight last week, and he gave them a touchdown in the last 45 seconds of the first half by not just running the ball. Denver had no timeouts. The moron threw the ball three times and gave Denver the ball. They were. They were like they were from the own one yard line. Or Denver's like, oh, thank you very much for this present. We'll take the touchdown. This dummy also doesn't know that an elbow counts for the purposes of inbound. They didn't challenge the fact that their receiver was inbounds and had a successful completion. Because dummy goes in front of the press and says, well, an elbow doesn't count for. For two knees. So I didn't want to challenge. We dispense with it. So that means, first of all, he's getting bad advice. He's got a moron in the booth and he himself is a moron because he doesn't know the rules. We can't bet on Tennessee. I'm sorry.

[A]

This is what we worried about when we thought about them for, you know, a long, long, long shot for the AFC south. Because I don't like anyone in the AFC south. But the coach was so bad last year. He's bad. In that first game. I really thought they hung with, with Denver and I thought their defense looked good and I liked how Cam Ward played even though the stats weren't there.

[C]

No, me too.

[A]

I had that game on. Just kind of marveling at, like, he was hanging around anyway.

[C]

I mean, Calvin Ridley's dropping balls. Come on.

[A]

If you had to do a bet for the AFC South. Houston +1.75. Jacksonville185. Indy240 or Tennessee +950 on FanDuel. What's the best value in your opinion? My answer is none, but I think Tennessee +9.50 might be the best value.

[C]

So something like a quarter unit on that. But honestly, we're going to find out. It might be Indy. It could be Indy. What if that. What if their defense is good? What if we'll.

[A]

We'll get to them. And then another possible. I have this one in bold. Jets plus six and a half against the Bills.

[C]

I really want to bet on the jets this week.

[A]

Lot of.

[C]

I'm not going to do it. I really want to do it well.

[A]

I, test wise they hung with the Steelers and their offense looked good in Fields. I thought watching it, I thought Fields was, was actually good in the game and then all the stats backed up. The advanced metrics were in his favor. He just played really well. Their offense in general played really well. They were who they told us they were going to be. They're pounding the ball. Breece hall looked fast. Fast and feels good. The problem is their defense couldn't stop Aaron Rodgers and it feels like this line is 3 points too high. When you think Bill's coming off an emotional Sunday night win. Ed Oliver's in a walking boot right now. Their secondary is in shambles. They didn't really stop the Ravens ever until they ever they got the Derek Henry fumbo and then the Ravens had to do their turtle hardened Rockets routine. We have no idea if the Bill's defense is even decent and it's in Jersey.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think the line's too high. I'd say I'm not willing to cross this off yet as a possible bet for us.

[C]

Let's keep it. Let's keep it because you hit on the important things. The credit that I will give to the jets organization for constructing an offense recognizing who Justin Fields is. This is possibly we're only one game in the smallest sample size possible. But homie, was they, they constructed an offense that maximizes his talents.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean they were not, you know, having him sit back there and putting him in position of having to make super accurate, you know, deep throw. They just, that was a very efficient offense that they ran and I, I'm impressed.

[A]

Yeah. When he used his legs, it was purposefully. It wasn't like, like almost like Caleb in that Monday night game. I'm running backwards. My guys aren't open. I'm going to run around. I'm going to go this way. Well, we'll mark that. One down. Ravens. Browns. I'm not allowing us to bet any direction.

[C]

Why? The Browns were like one of the most obvious sides last week against Cincinnati and you didn't allow us to bet it because it's the Browns. But another divisional game, it's way too many points.

[A]

Well, so I wrote down, I wrote down this line is 4 points too high. I think this line should be Ravens by seven and a half.

[C]

That would be fine and then we would just dispense with it. But the reason that I want to stick on this and just make sure we talk it through is because the it's a division game. The Browns absolutely, positively snatched Defeat from the jaws of victory. They invented ways to lose that game last week against Cincinnati. They beat Cincinnati pretty soundly in the underlying metrics. They just had horrendous special teams. Okay, I'm convinced that's it. No, we can't bet it. I mean, the special teams thing is like, well, you can't put that guy out.

[A]

And have they brought the kicker back? Shit Schmidt. Whatever his name is.

[C]

Whatever.

[A]

Shit Schmidt. Um, I did read. I. I did some deep diving on this one because I wanted to see how the Browns felt after they should have won last week and they didn't. And then just like heading into this Ravens game, there was some nobody believes in us quotes floating around. The defense was legit good against the Cincinnati offense that we all felt that, you know, was going to be this point machine, but they had a little more juice on offense. And it wasn't just that desean wasn't playing this guy Fannin, the rookie tight end, who I picked up on a couple leagues because I was watching the game. They were designing a bunch of stuff for him, and he looked really good. They just have a million running backs. You never know who has the ball. They have Judy.

[C]

Judy is the Jude. That's another thing, man. It's like the Flacco interceptions.

[A]

They're.

[C]

I mean, that's the problem. He didn't. But they weren't really terrible throws. They were extremely lucky bounces for the Bengals.

[A]

Yeah, well, there was one terrible throw, one terrible. I haven't. I haven't marked. Falcons. Vikings. Vikings played Monday. They played 15 good minutes and won the game. They're banged up. They lost Blake Cashman, who's their shot power.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Dan Ginkgo has a concussion. And I always feel like with concussions, you're out for the next week. I think that's like the unwritten rules. So that there's two. They're basically four guys down on defense now. And then Darasow, the left tackle and Ryan Co at the center are both questionable. And then on top of it, House JJ McCarthy just had a kid. Like, in the last 24 hours. Had a kid.

[C]

Congrats.

[A]

Like, missed practice. Had a kid.

[C]

Good job.

[A]

We've had children. It's a tense 48 hours. I don't. I don't love the thought of my quarterback having a child and then having to play, you know, the Falcons on a Sunday. And.

[C]

Do we go back to the.

[A]

Well, do we do it?

[C]

Do we dare?

[A]

I. Listen, I. I went back, I looked at the stats. I wanted to make sure My eyes weren't deceiving me. I thought the Falcons played the best other than the Ravens of any team that lost in week one. And I'm including the Browns. Like you name a team, I thought they moved the ball and did whatever they want. They just did dumb shit and their kicker kept fucking up. That's why they lost.

[C]

Cause they're the Falcons. Cause they, I mean they, they really.

[A]

Like the three and a half. I like the hook. I feel like they have cheap touchdown potential and. And I, I think we should at least mark it.

[C]

Yeah. Market.

[A]

Okay. Seahawks, Steelers, Seahawks plus three. The Cousin south special is plus 503 for the Seattle wins first half, Steelers win game. It's a Metcalf revenge game. I really want to take the Seahawks, but I'm just not going to do it because that coach there was that moment in that game and Sal and I got really mad about it Sunday when he didn't go for it and he kicked the field goal and gave the Niners back.

[C]

They kicked a game losing field goal. Congratulations, coach.

[A]

Well, this is interesting though. He talked about it after the. Coach McDonald and he said his. His nerds. The. He. They said go for it. The. The book says go for it. He didn't go for it because he didn't trust the offense. And that's why I, the nerds are telling him go for it. You got to go for it. And he's like, I don't know. Like that tells me he doesn't like his offense.

[C]

Well, you recall a week ago, you and I had a conversation, you really wanted to bet Seattle against San Francisco.

[A]

You talked me out of it.

[C]

Well, you know who else doesn't like their offense? Me.

[A]

Right. So you and my. Yeah. So we're. I would take them, but I just. I. The fact that he doesn't like the team made him nervous. All right. Giants, Cowboys. I think this line's too high, but I don't. We're the left tackle injured, Thomas limited in practice. I'm just not betting them if we don't know if we have him or not. I'm not doing that on a Thursday and I, I just want to stay away. But I would take the Giants normally.

[C]

I understand. I am endorsing your lean here and I'm also endorsing the idea of staying away because Russell Wilson not being able to move and he's as, as bad as. As we remember.

[A]

Like if he plays like we might just get dart on a Sunday like that. There's too many variables.

[C]

Okay. It's a stay away. But like, yeah.

[A]

And then Eagles, Chiefs. The Chiefs are underdogs at home. I was stunned to hear that on Sunday with Sal, the Eagles are favored by one and a half. Mahomes has never lost three straight games in his career. Mahomes is 12 and two as a home dog. And Philly threw everyone off their scent in that Dallas game when they. Milton borrowed it and they just pulled out like the tip just did enough. They didn't use A.J. brown at all. Just like a little bit of the tip. Just enough to get some pee in the urinal and that was it. And were they saving it for this game? This is a really hard one to figure out because from a football standpoint, I feel like the Eagles are undervalued just because they didn't have Jalen Garter 10 days ago. And just all the narratives are, well, you got to take KC at homes and all these things, but I just don't think Casey's that good.

[C]

Yeah, this is the hardest game on the board because I really have a strong conviction in favor of the Eagles here.

[A]

Let's hear it.

[C]

Well, the thing that we watched in the super bowl was the Eagles controlling the Chiefs on both sides of the ball in the trenches. And we watched the LA Chargers go down to Brazil and repeat that exact same footprint. They beat the crap out of them physically. They were. Justin Herbert just stood back there and went through progression number one and progression number two, and he didn't have to get to progression three because he found a guy open because the secondary for the Chiefs is super vulnerable. Not an impressive secondary.

[A]

Well, the only thing that worries me about this is what if the Chargers are really good?

[C]

This is exactly.

[A]

This is the problem. We talk about this all the time. It's. And it's not about overaction under action. It's about the previous week, coloring your opinion this week. And it's like, wow, the Chiefs didn't look that good against the Chargers. But that might be because the Chargers are good. And that's what we have no idea with. I just think Worthy might play, might not. No Rasheed Rice. The Chiefs didn't look explosive at all. And I really feel like Philly was rope a doping everybody in that first week. I think there's a lot more coming with them.

[C]

I think they can score when they want to score and when they think they need to score. I don't have any concern about that Philly offensive line putting them if they need to go down the field and get a score or a three or a seven. They can do it. I don't see the Chiefs putting up any kind of resistance to that, that defensive line. It's basically just Chris Jones. So tell me what kind of game Chris Jones is going to have and.

[A]

Then I'll start down. Yeah. Yeah. I was thinking about narratives coming out of week two. Chiefs going 02 heading into that Sunday night. Monday would be the biggest story in the league, right? Everyone be like, oh my God, the Chiefs are owing to do we have a new king of the AFC West? I just feel like we're going to do that and then we'll, they'll probably be fine by week 10. This is it. We're done. And then the Chiefs will be like seven and three.

[C]

Baltimore started last season. Oh, and two.

[A]

I don't, I don't know if we should actually bet this, but my. I have a hard, hard, hard lean on the Eagles.

[C]

So do I. So we'll, we'll see. We'll see as we work this out.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by the HBO original drama series Task from the creator of Mayor of Easttown Philadelphia. Great sports town. You know what else it's great at? Producing prestige HBO original crime drama series like Task from the creator of Mare Vistown. An FBI agent heads a task force to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man. Don't miss Task, starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelfrey. Now streaming on HBO Max. With new episodes every Sunday, this episode is brought to you by LinkedIn. As a small business owner, you don't have the luxury of clocking out early. Your business is on your mind 24 7. So when you're hiring, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That hiring partner is LinkedIn. Jobs. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn's new feature can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. Nice. At the end of the day, the most important thing to your small business is is the quality of candidates. And with LinkedIn you can feel confident you're getting the best. You can even add a hashtag hiring frame to your profile picture and get two times more qualified candidates. Post your job for [e-mail] Simmons terms and conditions apply. Bears Lions Bears are getting six and a half in Detroit. There's some major Lions uncertainty on the offensive line. There's some Bears defensive back uncertainty, although it seems like they're going to get some corners back. I wish we had known that for sure when we did. That Bears pick on Thursday, they're basically. And you could feel it in the fourth quarter. They were just on all their backup.

[C]

D backs down two guys. They're two. Two of their best guys this game.

[A]

And the reason I had it bolded was it's one of my favorite scenarios. The. The old offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator who intimately knows the team that he just coached for the last few years and knows every little button to push, every weakness, every single thing, because he's coaching this team week after week, going, man, I hope they don't do this against us or I hope they don't realize blank. He knows all of these things. And I think the line's too high. I also don't think the Lions are. I thought they got their asses kicked. Like the DVOA rankings came out for week one and they were in the bottom, bottom four. I think they got their asses kicked against the packers and maybe the Packers.

[C]

The packers might be good. That's the problem.

[A]

Yeah. Well, yeah, it's the problem, but I just thought the line was too high and it's. It seems like an overreaction to me because how that Monday night game played out at the end.

[C]

I agree. And I especially like your angle, the correct angle of Ben Johnson understanding how that the order of operation for that offense and how that offense can be most successful there in Detroit and you know, sitting all week with his defensive coordinator and saying, this is how we're going to defend this. This is the right way to try and take away some of this stuff. And Green Bay was super effective at taking away a bunch of that. That stuff.

[A]

Yeah, they should win. Did you see that stat about Jared Goff when he doesn't have Shan, Sean McVeigh and Ben Johnson calling plays for him he game.

[C]

Right.

[A]

He was like, oh, and 75, whatever it is.

[C]

Yeah, it's in the. It's right. Exactly.

[A]

But yeah, that. I'm not done with the Bears yet. I just think that was a weird game. They got that pick six and it just felt like they were off to victory. And then. And then JJ just made a couple big plays and big throws and the. And the Bears just kind of died. It was weird.

[C]

I don't think I can get there with the Bears because they, they. They can't run the football. And if you can't run the football, if you. And it just made, you know, put Caleb in so many situations where he's having to go through reads and he's backpedaling and he's sprinting left, sprinting right.

[A]

Did you read the excerpts from that giant piece Tyler Dunn did about Caleb?

[C]

No, no talking to all the people.

[A]

It's a substack piece, but it's pretty damning, man. It just did not make you feel awesome about whatever's happening with them or if you have them on two fantasy teams like I do. Chargers, Raiders, Chargers minus three in Vegas, which is the overreaction line of the week. I think Carroll versus Harbaugh brought that. I had the Raiders all week, but this Brock Bowers maybe not be a hundred percent. I, I, I'm not locking in the Raiders. And then Brock Bowers is out on Monday night because that's going to be a loss.

[C]

Well, Mike Mayer got all of the, the routes, you know, and he was.

[A]

Pretty successful, but he's not Brock Bowers like Brock Bowers killed the so this is another one of those Week two.

[C]

What do you think should be the right line then, if it's an overreaction? Chargers one and a half.

[A]

I think it should be Chargers one and a half or two and a half. I don't think it should be three.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

But I think maybe some of that has to do with Bowers. I will say this, though, going back to the earlier discussion about how week one shapes Week two, the Raiders might be pretty good and it might have made the Pats look a little worse than maybe they are because they're just really explosive. They have, they had dudes all over the field and Gino was, was hucking it and he makes like the two or three dumb Geno plays, but for the most part they were maximizing who he was. The thing is, the Pats shut down their running game and they were still able to get all these explosive plays. But I kind of like their offense. I think, I think, I think they're going to be able to move the ball.

[C]

I regret not having more balls. I should have argued with you about getting on the Raiders. I really like that situation.

[A]

I said in the thing I thought they were going to win, beat the Pats in Week one. I mean, there was no Gonzalez anyway.

[C]

The Gonzalez thing, we didn't know for sure until after the show. We knew for sure.

[A]

I knew you, you.

[C]

Yeah, but, you know.

[A]

And then the last two, these are my favorites. Speaking of the Patriots, I swear, even if the Dolphins didn't have all this crazy shit going on, I would still like the Patriots in this game. But the fact that they have all the crazy shit going on Makes it even better. Patriots plus one and a half in Miami. I honestly don't think Miami should be favored over any team in the league except for Carolina. And their secondary was so bad in that Colts game. They were so poorly coached. All the, all the Colts were doing were just kind of stack in the middle and Tua, like didn't seem like he knew who to throw to. I, I just think Miami's a mess and I actually think the Pats might be a little better than they showed last week. I watched the game again after Sal and I did the pod and it was like, yeah, it was a little bleak, but they also like they didn't run the ball at all second half for some reason. I thought it was from a strategy standpoint was the bigger issue than a talent standpoint. I don't think the Pats are, I don't think they're that bad. And Gonzalez looks like he's coming back this week. Rabel has done great against Tua over the years and, and I just like the Pats, so this is going to be one of my picks. House.

[C]

Well, here's the the only thing that I would want to make sure that we're feeling good about is Gonzalez coming back.

[A]

He, he, he.

[C]

We said at the outset that he's vital, that he's a crucial piece of that. If he, if we know he's coming back, then I feel good about this. I don't disagree with the idea that the Patriots should be favored. They're all. What we're really fighting against here is math because this, this, you know, the history, the trends, the legacy of a team that got beat the way that the, the Dolphins did in Week one. There is a long, strong inclination over the years that that team bounces back in Week two. It's not nearly as bad or bleak as it looks. It's as bad and as bleak as it looks from my.

[A]

Well, there's a, there's a counter trend to that where both teams lost against the spread in week one. The underdog is like 70 something percent.

[C]

In week two if it's okay.

[A]

So there's, I looked at all the trends. They all like contradict each other. I, I'm going to look at this trend. Mike McDonald trending. Mike, Mike McDaniel trending on Monday because he's been relieved of his duties after this game. I think it's a likely outcome.

[C]

Good. That's, this is, this one's in put this in. It goes in the 107 because I.

[A]

Think the Dolphins are the worst team in the afc. And if the Pats can't beat the Dolphins, this is going to be a disaster of a season. They should be able to beat the Dolphins. I think they're going to be able to run the ball. They'll use Henderson more. They. The thing with the Pats this year, and it really jumped out when I rewatched it, was they do have speed this year, like booty. He, he. He's been 100 yard guy basically for four games in a row. Now they have Diggs and they have Henderson, who I think they're just going to end up using more. But they, there's. It's just not last year's team. I think they're going to get Drake going. They're going to start rolling him out. And I think if you can get a lead on Miami, you can break them. So that's one of my picks. Then the other one I'm not going to get shaken off. The Broncos because they fell asleep at home against a team that they thought was going to suck and they got super bowl smoke blown up their ass for the whole off season. And Bo Nicks just absolutely sucked in the game. I don't think he's going to suck all season. He sucked in the game. It was a bad game. And it's not like the Colts defense is going to harass him. I thought Tennessee's defense was good in that game. This line being under three feels like a miracle to me because I would have bet crazy money on this in August. And FYI, why do we trust Daniel Dimes and the Colts? Because they, they lit up this awful, poorly coached Miami defense like they're. They're going to keep doing that. I don't see it. I think the Broncos have an awesome defense there.

[C]

It's indisputable. They do have an awesome defense and we love the idea of that defense against Mr. Daniel. The problem is Bo Nix and I am concerned. I'll just voice the concern. I'm not going to argue you out of this position. I like it. I endorse it. But this Colts team was about to blow the doors off this Broncos team last season.

[A]

I remember Jonathan Taylor. Two and a half quarters, they were doing it.

[C]

Yeah, Jonathan Taylor was about to cross the goal line and the big dope dropped the ball before he, before he crossed. And that was going to be the end of the game. And we just need to see basic competency out of Bo Nix. He cannot do what he did last week. That if he does that, we're going to Lose this bet.

[A]

I'm betting on Sean Payton kicking these guys in the ass all week and kicking himself because he coached a really shitty game last week.

[C]

He did.

[A]

And I actually think that was a good, terrible win for them. It was like, hey, guys, we're not just showing up, like, let's fucking try to go deep in the playoffs. Let's go. I. And I think they're going to be actually almost like they lost last week, like, with that kind of thing, and I just don't think the Colts are good enough. I. Colts beating Miami Colts Playing any of these AFC south teams, like, it's like a different caliber. It's lower. You know, they're like, the Broncos are like an SEC team. They're in a division that might have four playoff teams, by the way. I mean, there's a chance we could have four AFC west playoff teams. It's not inconceivable.

[C]

Okay. I'm not going to argue out of it.

[A]

Like, do you like any. Do you like a second AFC east team? Do you like a second AFC north team? Maybe Pittsburgh? Do you like a second AFC south team? I don't even like a first AFC south team. Like, we could go 9 and 8 and above in the AFC West. So I just think that's the best division, not only in the afc, but maybe in the whole league. And. And I've seen Daniel Dimes when he's going against a good defense, and it's pretty ugly. So my two are going to be Pat's Broncos. We have to agree on two. But what's. What's your pick? What's the one? You get one.

[C]

I have. I have three candidates. Okay, let's choose them.

[A]

No, you choose. This is your call.

[C]

Unfortunately, I am going back to two teams that kicked us in the nuts last week.

[A]

Well, give us the bronze and give us the silver and then give us your gold medal winner.

[C]

All right, so the bronze is going to be the Eagles. I really, really, really want to bet on the Eagles against the Chiefs, but I just have too much. Too much respect for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, and I can't. I don't want to do it. The thing that. That is the challenge with the Eagles defense is they have. It's a cast of characters that are new to a Vic Fangio defense and we've seen so many times, so many years, it takes a little while for them to get it. They will get it ultimately, but they were so susceptible and vulnerable. They could have definitely lost that game. Now, I know. No, Carter but still. So that's the bronze. The silver is the bench.

[A]

I'm surprised. I thought you were going to throw the Eagles at me.

[C]

I really wanted to do it, but I just, you know, I just have too much respect. I don't want to sit there on Sunday evening like, God damn it, why did I go against the Chiefs? And that is counter to what I did at the Super Bowl. I love the Eagles at the Super Bowl. I bet them every which way that proved out. But this is it. This is. Arrowhead Stadium is not a neutral stadium. And this is really it for the Chiefs. You. You said it. If they lose this game to the Eagles, we might be, you know, in. In reckoning mode, even though they can turn it around. My bronze is the Bears because the.

[A]

That's your. This is your silver. I mean, I knew you would screw this up.

[C]

It's. You just threw it at me. The silver is the Bears.

[A]

That number is a reverse gold medal standing.

[C]

It's ridiculous. The number is ridiculous. Six and a half is preposterous. I am definitely going to bet on the Bears getting the six and a half. And yet I just don't want to be in Caleb. Caleb's hands. I just don't want to. I didn't enjoy that fourth quarter. I didn't enjoy watching him run around. I didn't enjoy the inability of the Bears to establish the run in any meaningful way. And the playbook just got thin real quick. They were on script, and then when they went off script, it was a. It was a bad offense. So I just don't want any part of it.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

I'm playing on the Atlanta Falcons. I'm sorry.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

That's my pick. It's the numbers wrong. If you wanted to tell me, you know, it was like a one and a half or two or whatever, but I don't. You know, it's. It's a. It's a number based on priors, and that's fine. It's. It's in line with. Look ahead. I just think that this Falcons team showed us a version of themselves. They're better. And what they. They lose games by self defeating. They lose games by self defeating.

[A]

Maybe we just take them every week until we can hit one of them.

[C]

So are you. Are you going to be mad if we have to look at this Falcons team?

[A]

I knew this was coming. I had them already in a spot.

[C]

All right, so it's the Falcons. That's my pick.

[A]

Well, so if we do Pats and Broncos as my two picks, now we have to agree on two. And here's where I can offer you for agreeance. Jets plus six and a half in Buffalo or at home against Buffalo?

[C]

I want to do it. I mean, I think that, that Bill's defense is so depleted and what we saw out of Baltimore, I think the jets that, that they really.

[A]

No Ed Oliver. Can they just run the ball? Could Buffalo. Well, let me ask you this. If Henry doesn't fumble and Baltimore just runs out the clock on them and that game is 40 to 25 and we spend the whole week going, oh my God, what's up with Buffalo's defense? What's the line for this game? Is it now plus four and a half? Did we just get two free points because Buffalo came back?

[C]

I need to look at the. Look. I don't.

[A]

I'll.

[C]

I'll try and look at the look ahead in the meantime, but no, just.

[A]

In your head, what would it have been? If it's 40 to 25, they just lose.

[C]

Honestly, Vegas Zone, that's. That's what that would have been. My guess.

[A]

So somehow that bought us points. Let me walk you through a little thought experiment because we didn't talk about a parlay, which we're allowed to do as one of the picks.

[C]

I'm listening.

[A]

Sadly, it brings the Arizona Cardinals into our lives against Carolina.

[C]

We know better.

[A]

Well, do we? Because we could take The Eagles to plus four and a half on FanDuel in Kansas City and just bet on that being a close game and we could put that with Arizona and that gets us under the minus 120 number. It's like minus 113, Arizona to win. Philly to plus four and a half in Kansas City, a team we both think is going to win. But let's say they don't win. Is KC going to blow out Philly? No, they're going to win by a touchdown. By 10. I think. If they win, they pulled it. If they win, Mahomes pulls this out late in the game, right?

[C]

Yeah. A late issue would be 2020.

[A]

And then they. Yeah, 20. But I just think this is like a tight game or Philly wins.

[C]

Okay, tell me the number. What's the number? What do we get with that?

[A]

We get it to minus 114. That gets it done.

[C]

Say less. I'm there. I'm convinced. All right, so I got, I got the look ahead. The look ahead for that Buffalo jets game was eight and a half. So it's already down two points from that, right?

[A]

Yeah, but that, but nobody knew the jets were going to look like that.

[C]

Right.

[A]

All right. And before we pull the trigger on this parlay, are we sure we feel okay about putting the Cardinals in anything?

[C]

They just have to win, right?

[A]

Just have to win.

[C]

Just the dead asking, go home. Like, if they're going to be a team that. That. That, you know, contends in the NFC West. Every a darling to win the NFC West. The Cardinals, a lot of people got.

[A]

In on them because we could also nudge the Bears up to like 11 and a half and do that.

[C]

Put.

[A]

That in double digits against Detroit.

[C]

I. I know how ludicrous it is. I trust Kyler more than I trust Caleb.

[A]

Okay. That's it. Also, maybe the Saints are okay. Maybe that's why the Cardinals looked a little shaky. I personally think the Cardinals should be able to rush for like 290 yards against.

[C]

I feel the same way.

[A]

I mean, against the Panthers.

[C]

I share your conviction.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay. I didn't hesitate. I think that Cardinals Eagles combo is a nice one. It's tasty.

[A]

All right, great. So those would be the two we agree on. Okay. As always, today's Ringer 107 is brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. The Ringer 107 picks for week two. Tough start for us one and four. I only regret one of the four losses. We easily should have been three and two. We should mention that I called you as the Ravens were up by 15 points to talk about how we still had a chance to get to three and two for a week. And like Derrick Henry, it's like his ears are ringing and he fumbled in. The Rest was history. You know who else's ears were ringing? Chris Chen. Our friend who joined the Bel Air.

[C]

Country Club last year, Our buddy, Chris Chen.

[A]

Yeah. And we talked about how he joined and he was like, all these people are hitting me up to play. Like, can you not talk about that on the podcast again? So I want to apologize to Chris Chen for. Not for nothing. For telling people last week that he belongs to the Bel Air Country Club and by the way, is available for golf. If you've ever met Chris Chen.

[C]

Magnificent.

[A]

He'll host you. It'll be great. He'll set you up. Yeah. Chris Chen available. Okay. The Ringer 107 picks for week two, one and four last week, your pick, the one you loved, was the Atlanta Falcons. Absolutely kicked us in the nuts and broke our hearts last week. They did, we think against a little bit of a depleted Vikings team coming off a big win last week, big comeback. J.J. mcCarthy just had a Short week defenses is injuries all over the place.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And very least Falcons. Like, like there's some backdoor cover potential. All kinds of stuff. We're taking the Falcons plus three and a half. We agree on the jets plus six and a half against Bills. We did. It's in Jersey and we think they can run the ball and that this game could be a nice competitive game. By the way, shout out to Membo, the right tackle for the jets, because I talked in the preseason about how he was really bad at a preseason game and he was like lights out in the PFF rankings. So maybe they got a thing. But it's. I, I feel like they can hang in this game. And, and this, this is like a. Let's be careful out there. If you're throwing the Bills in a parlay tease. Elimination pool. Whatever. I would, I would, I would steer clear because the jets look good last week. And by the way, they lost on a 60 yard field goal. And because their punt returner, who they waved.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Messed up a punt.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

Two things, two variables that you know.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

The next one we agreed on is a little parlay. We're going to use our parlay card here. The Arizona money line at home against Carolina. The worst team in either conference unless Miami can top them with Philadelphia in Kansas City. Adjusted outline on FanDuel plus four and a half. Put those together. It's minus 1 13. So Eagles plus four and a half. Arizona Moneyline. That's our fourth Broncos. You were a little nervous about this in Indianapolis. This is one of my picks. This is. I'm not wavering from preseason. I think the Broncos are really good. Yeah.

[C]

I'm just out of it.

[A]

And I'm not. And I know who Daniel Dimes is, and I'm doing Broncos minus two and a half. Colts, that's fine. And then last but not least, I didn't think the Pats would win last week and they didn't. I thought the Pats are going to be terrible last year and they were. I think the Pats are going to win in Miami this week. I like the plus one and a half. I'm grabbing it. I think this is maybe even a little less about how bad the Dolphins are and a little more about. I'd say I think there's something in there with the Pats, especially if Gonzalez can come back. So Those are our Ringer 107 picks for week two. Today's Ringer 107 was brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. Remember, odds are subject to change over the course of the weekend. I'm just going to start calling the country club and charging stuff to Chris Chen.

[C]

Also amazing.

[A]

Two orders of the pigs in the blanket just for the bar. Thanks.

[C]

They have an off the menu burger this phenomenal.

[A]

I wanted to shout out Louis K too. Our publicist.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Because he sent me to voicemail like 8 out of 9 times I texted him and I was like, if you send me to voicemail again, I'm going to be looking for somebody else. Even though we, we've been friends for 23 years. So to his credit, he was like, I'm at a screening, I'll call you when I get out. And he called me. So we're okay for now, but I've just monitor it.

[C]

He's busy. He's got, you know, calling him.

[A]

Well, that's the thing. It's like, you know, at some point.

[C]

You got to call on him.

[A]

You got to figure out how to juggle me a little bit with your, with your massive clients. So anyway, shout out to him. How you feeling about the Guillotine league we're in? Oh, try to be nice.

[C]

Well, first of all, the concept is amazing. I can't believe we've, you know, we're slightly behind the curve in terms of Guillotine. You've been doing it a couple years now. This, it's.

[A]

No, I only did it last year and I, I went to a Dodger game with our friend Dave just randomly who was one of the people threatening to be cut and he needed just a little more from DeAndre Swift down the stret stretch and, and we're in somebody's suite watching this Bears game over, watching the Dodgers who by the way were throwing a no hitter at the time.

[C]

No hitter on the baseball field in front of your face.

[A]

And he's just staring at, just praying for a DeAndre Swift touch. And they finally get the ball back near the end. They're down whatever. And they had, they're just in like. And he's studying which receivers are out for like the Hail Mary lateral play. Swift's not out there. He's like, ah. Ends up losing by two points. The Guillotine is great. It really is amazing.

[C]

It's really amazing.

[A]

He was devastated. He was like, I love this league. I didn't want to leave. It's really like survivor where it's like you, you, you fly to, you know, some crazy location and then you get voted out in a day.

[C]

I offered my team to him. I finished in first. I offered if he wanted to pay.

[A]

Me over, over the winnings of what the league would have been.

[C]

Yeah, a fair amount of money. That's all. I mean if do you want the first place team, that's. I try to make a fair price. That's what I offered. He didn't buy.

[A]

So, so I had George Kittle in this league and I never have George Kittle in fantasy because he always gets hurt. And this year he was sitting there, we're doing like a snake draft. And I was like, all right, George Kittle was healthy last year. He'll be fine. He's fine. He got hurt in like an hour. So I had to pick up Fannin on the brown. So now I've got Harold Fan in stock.

[C]

That's pretty good.

[A]

Well, and then we're in the ringer Yahoo. Fantasy thing too. Which, which, which we did for the, for the ringer and I did my 5 QB strategy and I think one of them has already been waived. Matthew Stafford. 22 is on the choppy block.

[C]

Why did you wave Stafford and keep tua?

[A]

Well, cause I, I just can't do it with Stafford.

[C]

He's all right.

[A]

I can't.

[C]

Fine. Fine.

[A]

I can't.

[C]

I understand completely.

[A]

He can't move anymore. I mean, God bless him. But yeah, you know, 14 points last week. Anyway, fantasy is the. This is the most fun it's ever been.

[C]

Don't call it a comeback. It's great.

[A]

Yeah. All right, House, Great to see you.

[C]

Always.

[A]

Thanks for staying relatively sober for us. Do you have any last, last thoughts on the Steve Ballmer scandal before we go? I talked about it earlier in the pod.

[C]

Well, I, I, it is what we thought it was like. You've made the point. A lot of smart people have made point. It doesn't matter. We don't need to go find smoking guns. And I think there are some. I mean, Pablo keeps on digging up more stuff that makes it look worse and worse, but the appearance of impropriety is sufficient. You just can't have the thing that, that they, that they did. He invested in a closed investment and Kawhi benefited in almost exactly the same amount of money. That's enough. We don't need any other discussion about it. It looks bad to the other owners and what's coming out of this owner's meeting will be really interesting.

[A]

I don't have a sponsor yet for this new studio, so I'm calling it the aspiration studio for now in the aspiration dome. Getting ready to go.

[C]

I'm worried about that though. Why Would you want to do that? They don't have any money.

[A]

Well, they're hot right now. It's a hot brand.

[C]

You're putting the stink on your on your studio.

[A]

Oh, that's a good point.

[C]

It's a Ponzi scheme.

[A]

Yeah, that's a good point. All right, I'll come up with another name. All right, House, let's celebrate our winner 107. Come back in a couple days and I'll see you next week.

[C]

Only when the games are over. Don't send me any texts while the games are going on, please, for the love of God.

[A]

By the way, when's Ryder Cup?

[C]

It's in two weeks and I'm going to start getting.

[A]

When do you start getting fairway rolling like the odds and start talking about all that? Next week or the weekend?

[C]

We're talking about it, but we'll have a little bit next week and more. The week of the Ryder cup for sure.

[A]

All right, See you, House.

[C]

See you, buddy.

[A]

All right, that's it for the podcast. Thanks to House and CR& Concepcion, thanks to Gahau and Eduardo as well. And I am not going to be back until Sunday, which will be the same day we put up that Prestige TV podcast with the recap of episode two of tas. I'll see you with the cuz on Sunday. When we start.

[C]

I don't have.

[A]

Must be 21 plus in President select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + in President D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 100 Gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1-887-897777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York. This episode is brought to you by Warner Brothers Pictures. One Battle After Another is coming to theaters September 26th. Don't miss Legendary writer, director and producer my guy Paul Thomas Anderson teaming up with Leo DiCaprio for the first time ever. Pretty exciting. They almost. They almost teamed together in Boogie Nights, actually, alongside award winning actors like Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor and Benicio Del Toro in this hilarious action packed adventure following Bob Ferguson, an ex revolutionary, on a mission to find his missing daughter and overcome the consequences of his past. One Battle After Another only in theaters September 26th. Get tickets now. Rated R under 17. Not admitted without parenting.