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Anthony Dabbundo

Appearances

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2607.122

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The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2691.451

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The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2886.711

I was glad that you all said the thing about Happy with the gambling because my brain just had edited that out in my memory of the movie because I always thought Happy was the hero of that movie looking back. But I was texting my dad this the other day that I'm very torn because the reparations of these guys should have been getting paid for a long time.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2904.526

Once the TV money and the money changed everything and the shoe money entered it.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2908.209

into the into the equation these guys should have been compensated and we saw during COVID that they're so I think COVID was sort of the thing that cemented home that this had to change because the schools and the networks were so dependent on these guys playing and we're talking about young student athletes jeopardize you know arguably jeopardizing their health based on the COVID situation but and we're just like well school is the most important thing but we got to make money so these guys got to be out there so I thought that proved it but

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2934.662

I was telling my dad that I'm just torn because I do feel like the basketball is better. The SEC was the most dominant conference in the country this year. What is it, like seven of the Sweet 16 teams? A huge presence, but they were old. They had a lot of older players, and the quality of play is up.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2954.976

But then on the other side of it, I do feel, and speak to this if you want, but I feel like it has aged me as a millennial college basketball fan where... I want to see them get what they deserve, but I'm also looking at it. I'm just like, man, the portal opened up and they set the record. What was the number, Tate? It shattered the record.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2979.48

Fewer and fewer C.J. McCollum's, you know, we're going to see fewer and fewer diamonds who are on these mid-major teams like for a Lehigh or guys like John Moran. Would John Moran have been at Murray State for that second year? I don't it seems pretty unlikely. These guys are they're looking to climb up because the money is so crazy. And maybe once regulation comes in, it'll change.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

2998.049

But I'm just very torn about it because I just I think some kind of regulation has to come into it.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3163.428

Something just came to me. What if we had some kind of a system where the mid-majors are rewarded for their evaluation because they're finding these guys. They're having to go down into the bargain bin and find these guys with upside. What if a high major, if they take – we'd have to draw some sort of arbitrary line between where that stops and ends.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3182.353

But what if a Duke has to pay, let's say, a Lehigh for – Right. Some kind of a fee in the transfer.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3190.698

Where like I get rewarded for for what they do well, because these schools need money. And I think the fact that they're losing these NCAA tournament opportunities, it'll help their NIL will help them sort of do better. And maybe it would maybe wouldn't deplete them quite so much.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3391.599

There's like an interesting cyclical cable bundle kind of thing going on here where there's a market correction for an inefficiency and then we get to this other place and then it starts to resemble the original thing, right? It's...

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3402.443

Like eventually, yeah, like what you were saying, if it all just if the NCAA was the inefficiency and it goes away and we end up with this gigantic group of teams doing it a different way and then they start to regionally split off, maybe that's the path to success. I don't know.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3422.063

uh tennessee uh they they hate duke even though that was just kind of based on one game but i'd say tennessee in conference people i mean florida um those indiana indiana was the one yeah indiana was a generational thing that was like really driven by the bob knight era but those those are the one it's like three or four and tate you're a unc fan we know you would actually approve carpet bombing on the duke campus but other than duke who who were the big rivals for unc

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3522.364

Still grabbing bags. He's back. We had a field day with the duty to country. Wasn't there some kind of commercial that we were all talking about? It might have been the Army. But UConn has become the new Duke. It's a different... Hurley is like the new Duke.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3535.892

They're a little more, there's a little more bravado. Duke had that sort of affluent, you know, great school, smarmy kind of a thing that you're seeing in- We're better than you. Ratliff on White Lotus, like that family. I'm sure Tate eats that up. But yeah, I mean, UConn and theirs is a lot more coach driven. They've had aggressive coaches in the past, but I think Hurley has kind of assumed that.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3556.926

And the more they succeed, they're going to become the evil empire in college basketball, I think.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3786.459

I texted somebody that works for the Thunder and said, Yegor seems very Thundery to me, and there was no response. So either I'm a loser and they don't want to answer, or it was true. I'll choose, I don't know.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3816.125

This was the first one on my list, though. I agree with Tate. I had down all underlined the Mormons are coming, the age of Ainge, another age of Ainge.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3823.613

is upon us but a big thing to consider here too is that well you mentioned Richie that's true surfer bro kind of guy but he has like a really he has a really gritty tough way that he plays um and you know one big thing though is that in Salt Lake City and in Provo I was told this while I was out there there's like a big tech boom and a lot of like BYU alums who are

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3844.239

There's more industry and tech out there, so there's money kind of coming up. There's something to keep an eye on. I think that your point about an NBA team, NBA people aligning with a school, there's something interesting in the future of college basketball there, too. It just seems so illegal.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3862.904

Also, the Mormon church has more money than God. They have a lot, a lot of money. They're really an interesting force for the future in college basketball.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3885.86

I was just going to point people to some of the oddities. If you just like weird players, things to get into, things to watch for. You mentioned the lottery people in this draft. Six of the top 14 that are in the Ringer NBA draft, plug that again, the guy that came out. So there's a lot of lottery talent in this game or in this part of the tournament.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3906.395

I wanted to point out there's a couple more odd players. Danny Wolf, who I mentioned on the Ringer NBA show the other day, he's a handling seven-footer. He has almost like a Franz Wagner-y, Hito Turgulu kind of big guy who can run some pick and roll. The shooting is a little inconsistent. He can be a little turnover prone, but he can really pass the ball.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3926.459

Depending on how a game can go, he can look like the best player on the floor. I don't know. Have you gotten to peep that guy at all, Billy?

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3943.168

Well, Queen's the other one. Queen, I mentioned that I think that he has sort of a Boris Diaz. He has a Euro way that he plays. You know, he had that game winner against Colorado State. He's a very cool level guy.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

3959.201

Yes, yes. A big guy who has really soft hands. He's constantly chewing his mouth guard, which drives my wife insane. But he's an interesting player. I think depending on how you see the game, you can be really high on his potential. He plays with another big guy. So I think that his future could look a little bit different in the NBA, but he's very fun. He is an interesting guy.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4127.748

Like, it's like you can't really describe it. It's just feel. Dio was chilling a lot of the time and then he'd get on a good team and you'd be like, oh my God, Dio could do all this. Like, you know, Bobcats, Dio, you're like, does this guy like basketball? Does he want to retire? And then he gets with a great system.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4142.458

I have a lot of arguments with like draftee people about whether or not he's a four. I think he probably should play with a shooting five and he's inside.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4254.099

That's a good transition there to my next one, which is really fun secondary guards. You know, you mentioned Jace. Jace really interesting because he doesn't play anything like his dad. I was trying to think of father son combos. It's like Steph kind of played like Dell. You could go down the line. Yeah. Jace doesn't have the same physical tools Jason did.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4272.529

He's more of a cerebral secondary guard who just has this really wide-ranging skill set. Another one that I know... It's like Bronny and LeBron.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4282.981

Yeah, and it's really just a choice. Yeah. No, one of the... One of the interesting, and I know, Tate, I know this is going to happen, is people are going to watch Auburn and they're going to go, why isn't Tahad Pettiford a lottery pick? This is going to happen. Mark it down because he is one of the smoothest handlers, scores, has crazy middle game. There's a little dilling there.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4306.004

dillingham kind of a thing going on with him where he can really handle the ball super skilled he might be the most talented guy on the team he probably is honestly and he's in their second unit so auburn has this old first unit that is very connected and good and guards and then they have the most talented player on the team coming in in the second unit and he gets to just play freely and if he's going he plays with the first unit so that's one to keep an eye on he's he's a fun fun player

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4490.727

He would have been awesome. He would have crushed. You can see with the matted hair and the headband. Yeah, it's 100%. Yeah.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4560.239

Parents, college basketball players. Oh, they're studs. Another mom who played. That's a really fun kind of trend among young players that we get is these really competitive moms. Yeah. You know, like Kelly Flagg, Reed Shepard's mom. Last year, you talk to anybody, they'd be like, Reed's mom is like the fire. Like, it's a very common trend that we're seeing more. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4696.769

I was going to say, wasn't Donovan Klingin, he's a Celtics fan, right? Didn't he like have some kind of fist pump moment in the draft room? Because Klingin's mom and Kelly Flagg.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4708.217

Well, Kelly Flagg and Don McClendon's mom actually played together in college.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4802.357

Well, I'm with you. I'm disappointed. I'm also disappointed that Tate would say that Duke is due. I just, my skin crawled.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4865.155

Uh, this one is more of a, you know, Tate and I, we, we tried to get, you were talking about the St. John's and the Arkansas game. I try not to, I try to sort of put the, like a curtain over the unsavory parts of the game. Cause we want to market the best version of this. This is more advice for, for the casual college basketball fan.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4883.1

If you find yourself watching, we all know YouTube TV is just, it's all over the place. It's the dominant way to watch these games. Now, if you're not watching this site, whatever, but, When you turn on a college basketball game, my advice is to pause it for 10 to 15 minutes. Go make yourself a drink. Go make yourself a snack. Maybe talk to your kids.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4901.489

Do something productive and start on your taxes. I don't know what it is. I like this.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4910.455

shit yeah just go send go on somebody's twitter replies say some shit you have 15 minutes to kill yeah go for it do this because the the college review system is just completely broken in a way that is awful it's like getting it it's just like getting a full body tattoo with uh It's horrible. It's horrible.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

4927.759

So do that because once we get to that portion of the game, they're going to be reviewing literally every single out of bounds call. They need to fix it. So I don't understand a good time. So just maybe have a snack break. Just prepare yourself for that. Pause the game so that you can skip right through all that stuff.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5620.848

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The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5759.986

Tristan Casas was in the middle of a bit of a breakout before he got injured and ended up missing most of the second half. So another big bat power and patience in this lineup. Bregman is such a true pro, a great vet who has a great eye. Like there's discipline to this lineup. And, you know, Jaron Duren went from couldn't see a fly ball when it was hit to him.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5781.053

He just got lost and they would give up inside the park home runs to actually grading out as one of the best defensive players in the sport last year. So it's been quite a turnaround. And I think there's real things happening in Boston.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5812.898

Yeah. Baltimore's best players starting the season on the IL. They lost their best pitcher. Yeah. Not sure they're closer. Yeah.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5819.364

It's Baltimore is the kind of team where we look back and they're not there yet. I'm not saying right off Baltimore, they still have a ton of young talent, but it feels like they're in danger of not capitalizing on just how much young talent they have. And that's where I'm a little concerned about them. Like if you look at their rotation now on paper.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5837.472

the injury to Grayson Rodriguez, their ace, you're all of a sudden not sure how they get all of these great lineups out in the American League.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5868.511

What does you being back in on Boston look like for you? Are you going to be watching games? Are you going to be checking in first half of the season, second half of the season?

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5930.026

All right. So we're going to call them the bad, good team. who may have missed their window. And we're going to stay in the division. Let's talk about the Yankees. I took their under 90.5 before the Cole injury. I like their 88.5 under even more after the Cole injury. And I get the idea that, hey, maybe it's become a little too trendy. Everybody's saying this could be a down year for the Yankees.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5951.682

I just pulled up the athletics season predictions and two people on their staff picked the Yankees to win the American League. So maybe we forgot that they were the best team last year, but I think they've really come back to the pack and I pulled up their stats. They had five above average hitters last year.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5967.153

Most of the summer, it was kind of just Soto and judge Soto and Stanton sometimes, but Gleyber Torres has gone. He was a productive player for them. Despite the fan base's ire, Juan Soto is a force multiplier of a loss. Stanton's already hurt. Cole's already hurt. Done for the year. Rookie of the year, Luis Gil. He is going to miss. He's on the 60-day IL. He's got an issue.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

5990.406

Clark Schmidt comes down with a shoulder problem. And now you're looking around, and this roster is very, very thin in an American league that's very, very deep with above average to competitive teams. There's no elite teams. My MLB power rankings, the top five are all National League this year.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6009.847

that there's a lot of teams between like six and 15. And I kind of think the Yankees are just one of those teams in that mix this year.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6060.184

JJ doesn't seem too confident. We talk off air a lot about this. No, he does not. He's not feeling too confident about the season.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6088.682

That's actually exactly what I did, where I was like, I don't know about Dallas this year. And then it got so low. I was like, are we sure they're this bad? And it turns out they were. And there are parallels. I mean, Dak going down for... two-thirds of the season didn't help, but it's like a lot of stars. And then a lot of just, eh, we're not so sure about the depth on this roster.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6106.447

And, you know, they tried to plug the Soto loss as best as they could. Cody Bellinger's a fine player. Devin Williams is an elite closer. Max Fried's a very good starting pitcher. But, like, the net-net is a pretty big loss. And the thing, you know, Soto... as protection for Judge. The story was always, we can't protect Judge in this lineup. And so Soto was always on base.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6128.09

It's a major reason why Judge led the league in RBI last year. And I think Alonso, Pete Alonso in New York has a chance to do it this year, just solely because he's going to hit third behind Juan Soto and Lindor. So I think the Yankees are, you know, an 85, 86 wildcard team this year. I don't see them winning this division. I think the Orioles are better. And I think the Red Sox are better.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6151.463

All right. We're going to go with the good, bad team. They don't have a city officially, but I'm calling them the Sacramento A's over 71 and a half. They're just the athletics over 71 and a half.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6165.947

Yeah. I really liked the A's and it sounds crazy. You're like, you know, this team was an embarrassment two years ago. The ownership is an embarrassment. What they did to Oakland is a joke. But in terms of the actual on-the-field product, I'm kind of buying in. And they were a 500 team after the deadline last year. They got multiple breakouts from guys like J.J.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6184.841

Blede and Lawrence Butler, who kind of came out of nowhere and put together really impressive seasons. Brent Rookers, the best hitter in baseball that the casual fan doesn't know about. And the other part of this offense that I'm excited about, they're moving out of Oakland. which was a terrible park for hitters. And now in Sacramento, it's just an average park.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6202.659

It's not like they're going to not have home fans, like the fan base, whatever. And I think this is an above average lineup. And in fact, in my power rankings, I put offensive ranking in each blurb. I have A's 13th this season. I think they're a real offense that could slug their way to a 500 record.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6227.072

It kind of does. And I'll give you a player for your AL breakout team, your keeper team, Tyler Soderstrom. He might already be owned, but he last season in about 200 plate appearances showed everything that you want to see in a potential future slugger. Patience, power, really impressive barrel rates and such. So he was an above average hitter at age 23.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

6249.83

in 200 at-bats with the A's who were not a competitive team. Those are the kind of guys that could power this offense. And to their credit, they did spend money. They went out and bought Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs to give themselves a real floor as a pitching rotation. And so now, I think they're not going to be a true dumpster fire like they've been the last couple of years.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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All right, next one. I'm going back to my tried and true. There was a brief pause last season. We took a break while Atlanta's entire team was injured. But the Atlanta Braves, not just to win the NL East, which I think they're down to like plus 110, 120, but to also get a first round buy, which is at plus 160 at FanDuel. You can bet on that? I didn't even notice that one.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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there's such an imbalance in baseball, especially in the National League, not as much in the American League, but basically the five best teams, six, honestly, with the Padres, the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers, the Padres, the Phillies, the Mets, and the Braves, all play in the West and the East divisions. The Central is kind of we'll say mediocre that we'll say that. Yeah.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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And so basically since major league baseball changed the format to, we're going to have six teams in, we're going to give out two buys like the old football format used to be. the top two division winners get the buys. All three years in the National League, it's been whoever wins the East and whoever wins the West. Because to win those divisions, you need to win 95 games.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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And there's just no way that the central teams can get there. So I kind of see it as the same bet. Maybe the Cubs or the Brewers or the Cardinals come out of nowhere and win 95 games. That would really shock me. But it feels like whoever wins the East and probably the Dodgers in the West will just be the two teams that get the buy. So plus 160 on Atlanta. I like it. is where I go on that.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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And I think we're getting a bit of a discount on the Braves. I mean, I love this division. It's going to be so much fun. I've got my Phillies, of course, and Mets, who I would never bet on. Strider's coming back. Spencer Schwellenbach is a dark horse Cy Young candidate. He's down to 25-1, but he's basically been, he was a top 10 pitcher in the league from July onward.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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And so I'm in on the Braves as kind of the don't forget about us team because they're the only team I can really see going seven games with the Dodgers and actually seeing a path to them beating the Dodgers. if everybody's healthy. It's baseball, right? Anything could happen.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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But to actually beat the Dodgers and to say that team I would go to war with, they're the only team I kind of see doing it right now.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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I already have two wins in the bank. There you go. Right. I can't see it. I mean, have you seen the stuff about Mookie Betts?

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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He's lost 20 pounds. They don't know what's wrong with him. He can't keep food down. He made the trip to Tokyo but didn't play. There's a lot of weird things happening with him and Freddie Freeman. Freddie's got this elbow thing and he didn't play the series either. They still won without them, so I guess who needs them? But they do need them. And this lineup is older.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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So if you wanted to kind of make the Zag case against the Dodgers, they were the oldest lineup in baseball last year. They're not getting younger with their current core. But yeah, the pitching is so deep that they could withstand a couple injuries. It's insane.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Well, the one thing is, the problem with the Dodgers has always been, they go 162, they're the best team, but then they kind of run out of gas. And in that season, that 2020 season, they didn't have to go the full 162. It was only 60 games. And so they were as healthy as they've ever been going into the playoffs. This year, they do have a lot of risky bets with their pitching.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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I mean, Sasaki is awesome, but there's already some arm concerns with him. Tyler Glass now... One of my favorite pitchers on earth, but for like three months a year. And then Blake Snell is hit or miss every year.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Right. But if you have all of these bets on all of these guys, odds are you'll just have three of them for the playoffs. And then you have three of the top pitchers in the sport in the playoffs. And the sneaky thing, and this is where they deserve a lot of credit, more credit than they get, they find these bargain bin prospects and turn them into great middle relievers and to set up guys.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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And they pull guys out of obscurity and pitch to a two five ERA in the playoffs. And you're like, who's that guy? Oh, he throws 97. Oh yeah. Oh, that guy throws 99.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Right. And that's how, that's how they make it work where yes, they have the biggest payroll and yes, they have Otani and yes, they, you know, are the best team in the league, but they also have a good farm and they have a good player development too.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Second best odds to make the playoffs in the American League as well. One thing, you know, like plus 135, even if the Dodgers could go 120 and 42, they could break the record for the best team ever. They're still going to have to play a five game series with a very good team, probably like a Phillies or a Mets or a Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs. So they could end up

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Last year, they were down 2-1, and when Dave Roberts came up and said, we have a bullpen game in game four, every Dodgers fan, before they got cocky because they won the World Series, every Dodgers fan was like, that's it. Season's over. I know Jomie tweeted the video of the guy playing the trumpet at the funeral. This is over for the Dodgers when they were down 2-1 to the Padres.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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The San Diego ended up losing that series, and they played an incredible game five, but The margins are still so small in these baseball playoffs, especially with all these good teams in the National League.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Well, it's funny because Shohei Otani is plus 145 to win the MVP. You think that's a Mahomes? I've never seen a player this low to win MVP. And the thing was, like last year, I remember coming into the season and people were texting me like, why is Otani's MVP odds so low? I was like, well, he's not pitching this year. He would need to do something truly insane as a hitter. to win the MVP.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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So I wouldn't bet him because voters are going to say, well, if he hit and he pitched last year and we gave him MVP and now he's not pitching, we can't give him MVP this year. And then he went and did something historic that like had never been done in the history of baseball with the 50-50 and he won MVP going away. So I'm done trying to pretend to be like, well, actually with Otani.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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So if he plays 162 games, if he plays, you know, the full season, 140, whatever games, And he pitches at a competent level and he hits at the level we've seen him hit at. How does he not win? How do you beat him?

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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I don't think voter fatigue is a thing yet because we're still so in awe of what Otani is doing. It's not like a LeBron situation where he's the best player, but they're all kind of doing the same things. Otani is doing something that nobody else does. So how do you get tired of that? I can't. I watch Dodgers games every time he pitches. I'm just amazed by it. Soto's plus 550.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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My last bet is my favorite bet. Oh, my favorite dark horse. And it's the don't forget about us. Arizona Diamondbacks to make the playoffs are minus 120. They're probably my favorite World Series quote unquote long shot this year. They're the ultimate post hype because two years ago they made this miracle run to the World Series out of nowhere. Nobody saw them coming.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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And then there were expectations last year. Yeah. There's only so much you can do in terms of expectations because you have the Dodgers in your division. And that makes it really hard to win the division because they're not better than the Dodgers over 162. But all you've heard offseason is Dodgers this, Dodgers that, Dodgers this. Arizona scored the most runs in baseball last year.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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They added Corbin Burns. They improved their bullpen, which was the reason they didn't make the playoffs last year. People forget there was that whole insane final day of the regular season, saw plot type event with the Mets and the Braves where both teams had to split to get in the playoffs. But if one team won both games, then it would have been Arizona that got in the playoffs.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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The only reason that happened was because Arizona lost five of their last seven games in the final week. They completely choked. Their bullpen imploded and they fell apart. this is the best roster they've had. And they have 2023 rookie of the year, Corbin Carroll, who had a terrible sophomore slump first half of the season and then played at an MVP level in the second half.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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A non-Ohtani MVP level in the second half of the season. So, you know, Carroll breakout, you know, big time third season for him, could take a leap. Great pitching. They improved the bullpen. I think the snakes, the snakes are alive to make the playoffs and maybe pull an upset or two in the playoffs as well.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Barcelona was my pick. We did... Paul Carr, Steve Sruti and I, we did our bracket. And we have a little draft going. And I picked Barcelona. Luminia Mall is the coolest story in the soccer world right now. And he's just dominating. And there's parallels to a young Messi and just unbelievable what he did in the round of 16 against Benfica.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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He completely tore apart a very competent team by himself for the first two goals. And you're just like... what are you supposed to do? And he did it for Spain at age 16 this summer and, you know, led them to the Euros. He was the, quite frankly, the best player at the tournament. So what he's doing for them, we'll see if they play any defense, but what he's doing is unbelievable.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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We've never, we've never had a Barca Real final and we could get one. Real Madrid and Barcelona are looking good at the moment.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Anthony Richardson. Look, Shield came on here and said the most... I had to take my AirPods out and think for a second. I was so upset. Trading Anthony Richardson to Pittsburgh. I'm not giving up yet. I will be the last person on Richardson Island They will have to spray chemicals on top of it.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Be careful. That's fine. Keep your head on a swivel. I'm the last man standing. I'll be there. And maybe we'll get some people to join us.

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Talking NBA, March Madness, JuJu, MLB and 'The Bachelor' With Callie Curry, Tate Frazier, J. Kyle Mann, and Anthony Dabbundo

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Well, he's working this offseason with the guy who fixed Josh Allen's mechanics. Oh, great. So we've got some optimism. He's fully healthy. People forget he was a rookie. He played like five games, then he was hurt. And then he didn't get a regular offseason because he was hurt. So this is his first full offseason. I'm treating this like his year two. So if he's not showing improvement, we're out.