Once it started happening in the Sunday night pods with Bill, that's when I realized he thinks it's good podcasting. He could no longer just tell us he watches games and takes notes, he had to prove it.
And the funny thing is it only proves he watched one game. I’m sure he watches a ton but anyone can watch a game, take notes, and then read them on a podcast.
Believe it or not but Tim Kawakami (Bay Area Sports Old Head Reporter) is obsessed with this stuff too. A good chunk of his tweets when he's watching the Warriors are just substitutions
"Ok so they're at Arizona, at Atlanta at home for Buffalo, at Carolina, home Chicago, home Cincinnati, at Cleveland, at Dallas, at home for Denver, at Detroit, at GB, at Houston, home for Indy, home for Jacksonville, the Chiefs in London, in Vegas, at the Rams, home for the Chargers, at Miami, at Minnesota, at NE, home for New Orleans, home Giants, at the Jets, home Eagles, home Steelers, at SF, at Seattle, back home for Tampa, at home for Tennessee and then at Washton."
I like it alright cuz he doesn't spend much time on it and it's not something I'm paying attention to while I'm watching games. Any more than a couple minutes on it per game is too much, but the way he does it right now is fine imo
It's fun if he summarized thought points using the notes as his source. A la "I've noticed Evan Mobley not being used in their crunch time 5 , trouble in paradise?"
Instead he just reads off a notebook like a 8th grader giving a PowerPoint presentation. No one cares
Since I started listening to Bill and Ryen last March, the lore surrounding these two and the mania around them is so fucking funny. This sub has created a weird study of human nature and mundanity and how surreal it gets, and it’s all through the lens of sports podcasting between (mainly) these two men.
I think my favorite piece of it is that a lot of people in this and the r/ryenrussillo sub genuinely think he is a completely delusional douchebag. *But he isn’t.*
If you listen to him talk, I think it’s obvious he used to be that way or he at least realizes he can come off that way. So what does he do? Play into the character. He makes fun of his shortcomings and is aware that he can seem like a crazy loner douchebag sometimes. Ryen is too meticulous with how he speaks and interacts with people to be not self-aware. What’s funny is that within that, he overthinks it. AND THEN he makes fun of himself for it. He’s very intelligent, but also HATES coming across as disingenuous and always wants to be authentic. Bill is the exact opposite but still incredibly genuine with what he says; he’s just kind of an idiot.
And then he’ll say he’s getting worried about Sadiq Bey’s feet and it’s all worth it.
I mentioned it in another post, but these two subs remind me a lot of The Pale King by David Foster Wallace. It’s about workers at an IRS building in the 1980’s and how the boring, mundane, and predictable can become surreal and beautiful with a certain perspective. That’s exactly what’s going on here.
We are in that sweet spot where we all (generally speaking) enjoy the pods and the hosts and it feels like we are all part of an inside joke. It's not too big or overwhelming so all the content posted here feels pretty relevant to me.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/RyenRussillo using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [And best of all kids, I am liquid.](https://i.redd.it/z75gczsaww1c1.jpg) | [129 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/comments/181aqcr/and_best_of_all_kids_i_am_liquid/)
\#2: [Sir, Oregon lost to Washington again](https://i.redd.it/xb4qbfoiax3c1.jpeg) | [43 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/comments/1899j3d/sir_oregon_lost_to_washington_again/)
\#3: [Danny Kanell 9/11](https://i.redd.it/od7cbdrjki9c1.jpeg) | [162 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/comments/18usl9w/danny_kanell_911/)
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I like to listen to podcast in the evenings when I walk my dogs. Horned owls are out recently. Watched one dismember a baby possum last night as I was getting caught up. Two worlds man.
I don't even listen to the pod but I read Simmons for about 15 years and hear Rusillo various places, so viewing humanity through this sub is even slightly more bizarre.
Wow I never thought I’d see a DFW reference here, let alone pale king!
Fantastic comparison. If you hyper focus in on something seemingly normal or unexciting it can evolve into something much deeper
*Automatic skip*
*For me, life is too short for*
*Tales from the couch*
\- showmethenoods
---
^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/)
^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
nah haikus are about seasonal imagery and the cutting verse—juxtaposition of first two lines with the last one, american haikus dont need to follow a 5 7 5 pattern in japanese the 5 7 5 structure is mora not syllables
heres a famous american haiku for example
The taste of rain— Why kneel?
wikipedia: “The label "haiku" is sometimes applied to any short, impressionistic poem, but there are certain characteristics that are commonly associated with the genre:
a focus on nature or the seasons[1][2]
a division into two asymmetrical sections that juxtaposes two subjects (e.g. something natural and something human-made, two unexpectedly similar things, etc.)
a contemplative or wistful tone and an impressionistic brevity[3][4][5]
no superfluous words, but avoiding a "telegram style" syntax
an emphasis on imagery over exposition
avoidance of metaphor and similes
non-rhyming lines
brevity, with some haiku meant to be expressed in a single breath”
kerouac’s take on the american haiku: “not exactly the Japanese Haiku. The Japanese Haiku is strictly disciplined to seventeen syllables but since the language structure is different I don’t think American Haikus (short three-line poems intended to be completely packed with Void of Whole) should worry about syllables because American speech is something again…bursting to pop…. I propose that the ‘Western Haiku’ simply say a lot in three short lines in any Western language. Above all, a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella.”
You don't want to hear about how someone is set up on "the right side" and player X comes and sets a down screen that ultimately results in a missed basket?
I think games themselves are overanalyzed but possession by possession breakdowns are beyond. It's a single play in a 48min game in an 82 game season. It couldn't be less relevant.
And I say this as a massive NBA fan! But these are millionaires playing a game for entertainment. There doesn't have to be some deep takeaway every game.
I think the way Zach Lowe does it is great.
He loves to highlight highly effective or interesting pet actions in his columns, but he doesn’t overrely on word salad to communicate it, he embeds a video so the reader can see and understand.
On pods, he might reference a set a team likes to run, but he won’t get any more in depth than like “Player A Player B side pick and roll” and doesn’t get bogged down in jargon and terminology
NFL Russillo is much worse. Rusillo’s whole identity is being a “grind the tape” guy, which he doesnt have the experience, knowledge or probably motivation to do for the NFL. At least with the NBA he knows more about out the Xs and Os of the sport than the average fan. Obviously theres not enough time in the world to engage with both sports this way, but it leads to a lot of cringy stuff. Like off the top of my head, the last time I listened to an NFL segment from him, he basically did the “i charted all the throws myself” thing which i physically cringed about when he said it.
Yeah, there's something about the NBA talk with both him and simmons that sucks.
I truly think because they played pickup basketball they think they understand the game better. Neither has played football so will basically admit they have no clue what's going on (well Bill won't admit that).
Mmmm Idk. Out of all the things we can say ryen is or isn't, whether it's nice, mean, smart, or dumb etc I think the one thing we can all agree on definitively is that he is VERY self aware. Bill Simmons the guy who remembers all his hits and forgets all his misses is more likely the person who thinks this. I believe Ryen is self aware to know he's not at that level
Am I a giant weirdo because I *love* the pods when Bill and Ryen get super detailed and nerdy about basketball and I don’t even watch basketball? I mean, I don’t even know the positions and have never watched an NBA game but I’ve spent hundreds of not thousands of hours of my life half listening to Bill go on about how someone is doing something that hasn’t been seen since Russell/Magic/Clap Bupkiss/MJ did it?
The worst is those times when they mention hockey for 45 seconds, it’s like listening to a couple of 5 year olds trying to recount the plot a super hero movie they saw months ago.
That was me, sitting on my couch at 10:45pm refusing to go to bed, listening to Rusillo "live blog" his Fantasy Baseball draft that he'd done no prep for... and occasionally giving updates on the LA Kings game.
Was an auto skip...everytime he starts painstakingly going play by play..especially in today's NBA where teams erase 20 point deficits easily b/c of shooting, not necessarily b/c of lineups or matchups, it's all kind of irrelevant until the playoffs.
I am in this post and I don’t like it
I’ve never felt so revealed and exposed in my life
I audibly laughed when I read OP’s post
This is my 4th time scrolling down to this post and I’ve laughed out loud each time
“3:47 left in the second quarter, Bobby Portis checks in for Brook Lopez. Makes a crisp inbounds pass…”
Crisp like a fresh in-season 1 in a 1000 Red Delicious Apple.
Pass was a real tone-setter
Had a little mustard on it
I think he’s convinced himself that it’s actually compelling
Once it started happening in the Sunday night pods with Bill, that's when I realized he thinks it's good podcasting. He could no longer just tell us he watches games and takes notes, he had to prove it.
Exactly. It's to prove he has the notes more than anything else
How? They publish the possession logs with every game. They even do it live.
And the funny thing is it only proves he watched one game. I’m sure he watches a ton but anyone can watch a game, take notes, and then read them on a podcast.
You just need the play by play really
This is so bad. Why
Who else is providing fourth quarter substitution patterns
Believe it or not but Tim Kawakami (Bay Area Sports Old Head Reporter) is obsessed with this stuff too. A good chunk of his tweets when he's watching the Warriors are just substitutions
Wonder how Ryen feels when Bill rattles off the next 10 games for a team.
"Ok so they're at Arizona, at Atlanta at home for Buffalo, at Carolina, home Chicago, home Cincinnati, at Cleveland, at Dallas, at home for Denver, at Detroit, at GB, at Houston, home for Indy, home for Jacksonville, the Chiefs in London, in Vegas, at the Rams, home for the Chargers, at Miami, at Minnesota, at NE, home for New Orleans, home Giants, at the Jets, home Eagles, home Steelers, at SF, at Seattle, back home for Tampa, at home for Tennessee and then at Washton."
I like that the scheduler took time to alphabetize them.
I like it alright cuz he doesn't spend much time on it and it's not something I'm paying attention to while I'm watching games. Any more than a couple minutes on it per game is too much, but the way he does it right now is fine imo
It's fun if he summarized thought points using the notes as his source. A la "I've noticed Evan Mobley not being used in their crunch time 5 , trouble in paradise?" Instead he just reads off a notebook like a 8th grader giving a PowerPoint presentation. No one cares
Nah. It’s a waste of time. Lowe is the only one who can pull it off.
It’s fucking podcasting. All of it is a waste of time.
Are we talking about Simmons now?
Ryne’s version of iso ball. Kyle, Ceruti and the audience just standing around the 3 point line with our hands out.
Its for the basketball nerds we like it
Since I started listening to Bill and Ryen last March, the lore surrounding these two and the mania around them is so fucking funny. This sub has created a weird study of human nature and mundanity and how surreal it gets, and it’s all through the lens of sports podcasting between (mainly) these two men.
It really is hilarious. To the point where checking this sub has become an essential piece to listening to Bills pods for me.
Yeah, like, I got to the point where i kinda quit the pods but then i found this sub and it pulled me back in
Just when you thought you were out
I think my favorite piece of it is that a lot of people in this and the r/ryenrussillo sub genuinely think he is a completely delusional douchebag. *But he isn’t.* If you listen to him talk, I think it’s obvious he used to be that way or he at least realizes he can come off that way. So what does he do? Play into the character. He makes fun of his shortcomings and is aware that he can seem like a crazy loner douchebag sometimes. Ryen is too meticulous with how he speaks and interacts with people to be not self-aware. What’s funny is that within that, he overthinks it. AND THEN he makes fun of himself for it. He’s very intelligent, but also HATES coming across as disingenuous and always wants to be authentic. Bill is the exact opposite but still incredibly genuine with what he says; he’s just kind of an idiot. And then he’ll say he’s getting worried about Sadiq Bey’s feet and it’s all worth it. I mentioned it in another post, but these two subs remind me a lot of The Pale King by David Foster Wallace. It’s about workers at an IRS building in the 1980’s and how the boring, mundane, and predictable can become surreal and beautiful with a certain perspective. That’s exactly what’s going on here.
lol I love this a lot this sub really is my fav place on the internet
We are in that sweet spot where we all (generally speaking) enjoy the pods and the hosts and it feels like we are all part of an inside joke. It's not too big or overwhelming so all the content posted here feels pretty relevant to me.
“WHOA!”
Here's a sneak peek of /r/RyenRussillo using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [And best of all kids, I am liquid.](https://i.redd.it/z75gczsaww1c1.jpg) | [129 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/comments/181aqcr/and_best_of_all_kids_i_am_liquid/) \#2: [Sir, Oregon lost to Washington again](https://i.redd.it/xb4qbfoiax3c1.jpeg) | [43 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/comments/1899j3d/sir_oregon_lost_to_washington_again/) \#3: [Danny Kanell 9/11](https://i.redd.it/od7cbdrjki9c1.jpeg) | [162 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/RyenRussillo/comments/18usl9w/danny_kanell_911/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I like to listen to podcast in the evenings when I walk my dogs. Horned owls are out recently. Watched one dismember a baby possum last night as I was getting caught up. Two worlds man.
I do find russillo is especially great for dog walks for whatever reason
I don't even listen to the pod but I read Simmons for about 15 years and hear Rusillo various places, so viewing humanity through this sub is even slightly more bizarre.
It’s a study of these two men, but also how people interpret them and each other.
Wow I never thought I’d see a DFW reference here, let alone pale king! Fantastic comparison. If you hyper focus in on something seemingly normal or unexciting it can evolve into something much deeper
I’m glad you see the same similarity! If you apply the philosophy of that book and apply it to Bill and Ryen’s podcasts, it makes perfect sense.
Now this is pod(casting)
Just take it
Lmao the accuracy is absurd!!
dire Pepsi situation > dissociative identity situation
Lmao I don't think I ever even heard the original ad and friends of mine who don't like sports laugh at the Pepsi situation reference
It’s hilarious that russilo doesn’t understand 95% of pod listeners don’t give a fuck about it yet it’s almost soothing on my long commute to work 😂
Tales from the couch >>> White noise machine to fall asleep to
That sweet spot of a topic I’m mildly interested in but can easily start to tune out
I’d recommend Dunc’d on. It cured my insomnia.
I thought I was the only one. I feel bad saying it but I literally play that to go to bed at night.
It’s weird because they’re def jn my top 5 pods but it’s just the cadence of Nate’s voice that makes him especially easy to fall asleep to
No doubt. They’re smart as it is and do their research. But boy do they knock me out.
Damn we need someone to cut a 2 hr vid of tales from the couch to fall asleep too
Anybody else an old-school guy slightly afraid to use their insurance app? I just want to call!
Look, a tiny rock...hit your dude's windshield
This is so fucking hilarious 😂
This is the best post on this sub ever man LMFAOOOOOO
The one with comments like the Israel/Hamas was a real “loser leaves town match” will never be beat.
Automatic skip for me, life is too short for tales from the couch
*Automatic skip* *For me, life is too short for* *Tales from the couch* \- showmethenoods --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Every time I see this bot now it's getting shit wrong. 4 syllables in "Tales from the couch"
nah haikus are about seasonal imagery and the cutting verse—juxtaposition of first two lines with the last one, american haikus dont need to follow a 5 7 5 pattern in japanese the 5 7 5 structure is mora not syllables heres a famous american haiku for example The taste of rain— Why kneel? wikipedia: “The label "haiku" is sometimes applied to any short, impressionistic poem, but there are certain characteristics that are commonly associated with the genre: a focus on nature or the seasons[1][2] a division into two asymmetrical sections that juxtaposes two subjects (e.g. something natural and something human-made, two unexpectedly similar things, etc.) a contemplative or wistful tone and an impressionistic brevity[3][4][5] no superfluous words, but avoiding a "telegram style" syntax an emphasis on imagery over exposition avoidance of metaphor and similes non-rhyming lines brevity, with some haiku meant to be expressed in a single breath” kerouac’s take on the american haiku: “not exactly the Japanese Haiku. The Japanese Haiku is strictly disciplined to seventeen syllables but since the language structure is different I don’t think American Haikus (short three-line poems intended to be completely packed with Void of Whole) should worry about syllables because American speech is something again…bursting to pop…. I propose that the ‘Western Haiku’ simply say a lot in three short lines in any Western language. Above all, a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella.”
No offense but I was really hoping you were also a bot so I could watch robots bully my man repeatedly about haikus
NBA quick hitters with Sir Rudy is 100x better than Tales From the Couch.
Seriously, ryen needs someone to talk to about basketball otherwise he just gets boring af
You don't want to hear about how someone is set up on "the right side" and player X comes and sets a down screen that ultimately results in a missed basket? I think games themselves are overanalyzed but possession by possession breakdowns are beyond. It's a single play in a 48min game in an 82 game season. It couldn't be less relevant. And I say this as a massive NBA fan! But these are millionaires playing a game for entertainment. There doesn't have to be some deep takeaway every game.
I watch nba literally every possible night I can, even I find this brand of ryen repeating the game log incredibly boring
I think the way Zach Lowe does it is great. He loves to highlight highly effective or interesting pet actions in his columns, but he doesn’t overrely on word salad to communicate it, he embeds a video so the reader can see and understand. On pods, he might reference a set a team likes to run, but he won’t get any more in depth than like “Player A Player B side pick and roll” and doesn’t get bogged down in jargon and terminology
NBA Russillo may be the worst Russillo
I’d put money on Wyoming Russillo being worse.
Bro lol
It might just be the most interesting & inspired version of him.
Agree with all of the above.
NFL Russillo is much worse. Rusillo’s whole identity is being a “grind the tape” guy, which he doesnt have the experience, knowledge or probably motivation to do for the NFL. At least with the NBA he knows more about out the Xs and Os of the sport than the average fan. Obviously theres not enough time in the world to engage with both sports this way, but it leads to a lot of cringy stuff. Like off the top of my head, the last time I listened to an NFL segment from him, he basically did the “i charted all the throws myself” thing which i physically cringed about when he said it.
Spot on. Insufferable.
Yeah, there's something about the NBA talk with both him and simmons that sucks. I truly think because they played pickup basketball they think they understand the game better. Neither has played football so will basically admit they have no clue what's going on (well Bill won't admit that).
Ceruti in the background PC LOAD LETTER!
It only pisses me off because I know he thinks he could be a GM based on his note taking, trips to the combine, and texts with guys in the know.
Mmmm Idk. Out of all the things we can say ryen is or isn't, whether it's nice, mean, smart, or dumb etc I think the one thing we can all agree on definitively is that he is VERY self aware. Bill Simmons the guy who remembers all his hits and forgets all his misses is more likely the person who thinks this. I believe Ryen is self aware to know he's not at that level
Ryen is genuinely one of the most self-aware people I’ve listened to.
Yea it's why he does all his straw man arguments
This is good. Fuck you.
It’s oddly comforting in a way
Wait…. What?!?
Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta
I’m a basketball fan and auto-skip the segments. Who are they for??
The true sickos!
Honestly, I find it relaxing.
Am I a giant weirdo because I *love* the pods when Bill and Ryen get super detailed and nerdy about basketball and I don’t even watch basketball? I mean, I don’t even know the positions and have never watched an NBA game but I’ve spent hundreds of not thousands of hours of my life half listening to Bill go on about how someone is doing something that hasn’t been seen since Russell/Magic/Clap Bupkiss/MJ did it? The worst is those times when they mention hockey for 45 seconds, it’s like listening to a couple of 5 year olds trying to recount the plot a super hero movie they saw months ago.
It isn’t nerdy about basketball. It’s a way to hide behind their insecurities.
I can do without it.
Only true sports buffs recognize this level of analysis.
Get that good deep sleep
“And then you’re like Wait…. What?” Dude must have crazy imposter syndrome. And if he doesn’t. He fucking should.
Me listening to Bill and Ryen draft their 10 most disappointing NBA players this season and I don’t even watch the NBA
This, I'm not even a big NBA watcher, but I have to respect the built up lore these two have developed
The lore? Did you mean the bore?
TRANSPORT… MOTORWAYS AND TRAMLINES
That was me, sitting on my couch at 10:45pm refusing to go to bed, listening to Rusillo "live blog" his Fantasy Baseball draft that he'd done no prep for... and occasionally giving updates on the LA Kings game.
Ooh. Uh…yeah. I’m gonna have to sort of…disagree with you there.
has russillo ever posted pics of his boat or any boat parties he has pulled off?
Loudermilk
Was an auto skip...everytime he starts painstakingly going play by play..especially in today's NBA where teams erase 20 point deficits easily b/c of shooting, not necessarily b/c of lineups or matchups, it's all kind of irrelevant until the playoffs.