Believe in Darnold, Burrow’s Playoff Shadow, Week 18 Madness and Guess the Lines With Cousin Sal

The Ringer's Bill Simmons talks with Joe House about the updated NBA title odds, win totals, MVP, ROY, DPOY, Most Improved, and more (1:54), before trying to decipher the NFL's final regular-season slate and making the Million-Dollar Picks for Week 18 (22:50). Then, Bill is joined by Sean Fennessey to discuss the Knicks having real title-contender buzz, the 2024-25 Jets and what's next for Aaron Rodgers (54:34), before discussing the best movies of 2024 (1:08:53). Finally, Bill is joined by his dad for a Boston sports check-in, including the Patriots' Week 18 matchup against the Bills, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo's rocky year, the Celtics' midseason struggles, Boston's no. 1 athlete right now, and more (1:04:26). Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Sean Fennessey, Joe House, and Bill's Dad Producer: Kyle Crichton The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ringer's BIll Simmons is joined by Kirk Goldsberry for an all-positive NBA discussion on the exciting NBA talent pool, the contending Cavaliers, and a better than advertised Eastern Conference (01:28). Then they discuss the surging Knicks, Victor Wembanyama's development, how the Hawks are finally rounding out their roster (18:10), the trade machine Nets, Nikola Jokic, the newly fun Pistons, the "zombie" Magic, how the Lakers are turning their season around, a fun 2024 draft class, the good-vibes Clippers, and more (49:37). Host: Bill Simmons Guest: Kirk Goldsberry Producers: Kyle Crichton and Chia Hao Tat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ringer's Bill Simmons reacts to Pat Riley's statement that Jimmy Butler will NOT be traded this NBA season, before Joe House joins to discuss this year's NBA Christmas Day games, the NBA's superstar paradox, and check in on some of their preseason win-total predictions (2:20). Then, they run through their favorite games on the NFL weekend slate (29:59) before making the Million-Dollar Picks for NFL Week 17 (57:52). Finally, Bill's daughter Zoe joins for the final 'Year-End Teen Culture Awards' before she enters her 20s (1:03:48). Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Joe House and Zoe Simmons Producer: Kyle Crichton The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal to discuss the Cowboys sneaking by the Buccaneers on 'SNF,' Commanders-Eagles, another Sam Darnold–led Vikings comeback, and Bengals-Browns (01:04), before discussing the Raiders dropping several spots in the draft order after beating the Jaguars, the Dolphins ending the 49ers' playoff hopes, Panthers-Cardinals, Jets-Rams, Patriots-Bills (28:51), the Saturday NFL games, Usyk-Fury, a bunch of NFL observations through 16 weeks, and a tribute to Rickey Henderson (53:19). Finally, they guess the lines for NFL Week 17 (01:05:47), and close the show with Parent Corner (01:25:26). Host: Bill Simmons Guest: Cousin Sal Producers: Kyle Crichton and Chia Hao Tat The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Wosny Lambre and Joe House for an NBA Cup exit survey; they talk about what worked and what didn't, whether Las Vegas is the right place to hold this event, some proposed tweaks, and more (02:22). Then, Bill and House run through the weekend NFL slate before making their Million-Dollar Picks for NFL Week 16 (41:24). Finally, Bill talks with Peter Schrager of NFL Network and Fox Sports about a myriad of NFL topics, including a weird stretch of the NFL schedule, Patrick Mahomes’s injury, the possibly undervalued Ravens, COTY predictions, this year's "nobody believes in us" team (01:10:25), Jets dysfunction, the upcoming coaching carousel, Calais Campbell being released from the Dolphins amid a losing season, Netflix's new ‘Aaron Rodgers: Enigma’ documentary, and more (01:41:47). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices