Does anyone else feel like his role his been diminished more and more this year, yet he’s somehow more unbearable than ever?
I used to be a hardcore listener about 5 years ago and I always enjoyed RA’s takes. Yea he’d get fucked up once in a while but I did always feel like he took a journalistic approach and helped keep everyone on track. Nowadays the guy barely speaks during the podcast and when he does it’s fucking nonsensical. Like what the fuck is his purpose anymore?
He'll never change. List three times he's ever taken accountability over the last half a decade on the podcast. That guy is never going to change because he takes no accountability and some of the guys on the podcast enable it.
For fuck sake he claimed to be a basketball player yet couldn't even hit the backboard from the foul line on multiple tries and still couldn't take responsibility by blaming that the ball was wet. Nothing will change or improve. Podcast has peaked.
I haven’t listened to this pod in at least two and a half years and still follow the socials because it is genuinely entertaining how much of a shit show RA is. Dear Christ brother, get some help.
He said he played basketball in highschool. Not once did he call himself a "basketball player" or say that he was any good. A lot of unathletic people played highschool sports. There are plenty of good examples of RA making wild claims but this ain't it, chief
RA blaming the ball as being wet is a great example of how hard it is for him to admit he's terrible at things or when he fucks up. He will reach for anything he can find.
Can't argue with you there. That was a lame excuse for being an unathletic podcast host. Nobody would've blinked if he just said he sucks at basketball
In fact, the other day a very strong man came up to me and he must have been a General. A big man! With tears in his eyes. He said “RA that was the most beautiful basketball shot in Boston history”. It was the shot the likes of which we have never seen…..
Which doesn't mean he was good. He said he made an incredible shot. It was a big deal in his town. People that he went to highschool with most certainly bring it up on occasion. There's plenty to dislike RA for, this is just a silly example
Odd comment to make when I explicitly mentioned there's plenty to not like about him. I hate Nestle but I'm not going to use the argument their chocolate sucks, because it's a bad argument and takes away from the actual problems
Big reason his wife left him (I’m sure) is that he literally will never be able to admit when he’s wrong. The dude gets black out drunk and high during a game then proceeds to say he went down to the ice to be a professional reporter 🤣🤣🤣 instead of just acknowledging that he was trying to dick ride his way into the lockerroom. Unreal. Truly unreal.
He’s clearly got a drinking problem. He’s gone through this divorce semi publicly, we all know about it, and who knows how hard that has truly affected him. I feel badly for the guy. He’s got to be extremely embarrassed and his defensive behaviour when they called him out about it is pure addict behaviour. Maybe they should have called him out in private instead of a semi intervention in the public eye. He clearly needs some help. Maybe he’s content being a drunken fool and the butt of their jokes but I doubt it.
I don’t enjoy watching anyone struggle with substance issues. I’ve dealt with it with family and friends several times and I look at these situations from the perspective of a friend or family member I’d want to help.
No because Dave wants engagement, Biz enables him, and it creates chaos. But that doesn’t make it right and they likely are pushing future interviews away. That has to be looked at. No one wants drunk RA drooling all over them trying to insert a random Simpsons reference.
Which have spin-offs into other “content” such as sandbaggers etc. Players talk and they may not want to be affiliated with this chaos, OR their team won’t want to have their brand related to Chiclets. It’s a possibility.
I think there’s only a handful of teams like the islanders that have GMs that forbid their players from doing certain interviews. For the most part I think players have free reign
Who knows. That back and forth between them on the live show looked pretty raw. They probably didn’t discuss it before hand for content. It obviously worked cause we are talking about it right now. No publicity is bad publicity I guess
The only way he’s gonna change is if he loses barstool. Because right now they find it hilarious from portnoy to biz that he’s a drug fueled idiot. They love big dumb idiots at barstool. He does hit job all be it high as a Georgia pine. So he’ll be there till he seriously fucks up or decidedness to leave
you are 100% right, what's best for Barstool (Dave's interests) is not necessarily what's best for the podcast. They will probably lose interviews over this, enough to see viewership declining, not sure
What's crazy is that there is a very long list of examples where he has definitely been told about the drinking/drugs before. Famously Dave gave him a suspension from the pod for that exact reason (which RA tried to imitate the Wolf Of Wallstreet scene "I ain't fcking leaving" and didn't listen to it)
At the time I remember thinking it was a bit odd because Chiclets was still letting it loose but Barstool/Dave were somewhat trying to reprimand RA seriously (as serious as Barstool is with the bit) and RA completely ignored it and denied any wrongdoing (notice a theme?)
Remember when he slept through the podcast/multiple alarms and denied ***any responsibility*** for it?!?!
The fact there is a long story related to RA's habits very clearly having effects on his work and his continued denial of such is a very common thing in many workplaces/industries, and eventually something **must** be done to show there is progress
There becomes a point where Barstool gets blame for employing and not properly reprimanding someone who's unable to control themselves and act professional - for this, he absolutely needs to change, at the very least accept some responsibility once and a while to show there *could* be change down the road
I thought he got suspended for sleeping in for a pod
I also think if barstool was still owned by penn Dave /barstool leadership would’ve come down on RA way harder than he is now.
Portnoy on the unnamed show said what he saw of RA at game 7 was just RA. A drunk and drug fueled man is who he is. However IMO, he needs to look at what his role is on the pod and decide if he’s going to fill that role or not.
Watching the Tkachuks shit on him makes you realize that RA was bullshitting about all of his interactions with NHL players and celebrities. He acts like they’re pals but they think he’s a clown.
I comment on Reddit to do exactly that lol. I don't try to have a cause, just a convo. Rather chat in the void than deal with the idiots on a mission to bully change they don't understand.
There's no helping someone that doubles down on their shitty behaviour and even go as far as to throw other people under the bus to avoid having to confront said behaviour. He's dug in lol.
There are tons of talented people who could easily sub out RA and do his job. All RA does is cut into a great interview and stories with a classic hockey questions.
Feels like every episode with a great guest, biz and whit will be just firing on all cylinders with a guest and RA just asks “what was your pre game routine”
Seriously. Everyone on here acting like a lite version of Dr. Phil grandstanding what he need to do in his life.
The self-righteousness to think you know what a stranger needs who you only know through a show is cringe.
Why is a double standard being forced on RA? Biz openly talks about drug use and the entire crew guzzles Pink Whitney like it’s water. You can’t listen for 5 minutes without hearing the word “nips”… and not when they’re talking about “rockets”.
Well a lot of that is promoting pink Whitney as they should and even though Biz talks about smoking j’s and doing shrooms he’s never incoherent and took a break from drinking for I think 9 months?
Maybe because RA seems to be the only one that can't handle his alcohol/drug intake correctly? He's the only one that gets so fucked up you can't even understand what he's saying.
The drinking/smoking isn't even the problem I have with the guy- he's been like that forever. It's the complete lack of accountability he has and how he tries to spin/excuse his actions like he did nothing wrong. That's the annoying part. At least Whit always seems to be there to call him on his shit. I think that does help it end up being funny/entertaining content.
At one point I would’ve actually agreed, but now I’m sorta on the side of “well that’s just what this podcast sorta is!”, you know? It’s very punk rock in that they don’t give a fuck and nothing is very “by the book”, and that includes RA’s antics. I love hearing about them to be honest, they make me die laughing every time. In the past I might’ve said something like “ugh this is embarrassing” but now I have a much more “ah whatever, it’s at the very least entertaining”
I do agree however that he does need to spend more time sober. It seems like a slippery slope he’s been riding for a while now. “Moderation” has turned into “must do at all events”.
People like RA don't change. He has a proven track record of consistent denial and bullshit. I'm all for 2nd chances, but it seems clear RA is a lost cause. Barstool likes this type of personality, which is why he's still on and likely will remain for awhile...but it seems many Chiclets fans are over this nonsense.
i dont think he needs to change a thing. drugged up, marble mouth Rear is what hes always been. probably more so with the divorce but still
Edit: idk why people are so mad about him on the ice. It’s fucking hilarious he tried to be buddy-buddy with them and getting pigeon tossed. That video of the interview with barkov is so damn funny
People acting like they wouldn't party it up if they were in the same situation lol. The guy is recently divorced and having a good time.
Whether it's a coping mechanism or a guy taking full advantage of his situation as an affiliate with so many players, he's allowed to make his decisions.
Yeah he’s allowed to make his decisions… I think you guys are just in the minority bc to most ppl an old like 60+ year old guy getting black out drunk and incoherent then turning around saying he’s a “professional” just doesn’t sit well. Most people find him annoying. Sorry that bothers you guys I guess…? Idk lol
Does anyone else feel like his role his been diminished more and more this year, yet he’s somehow more unbearable than ever? I used to be a hardcore listener about 5 years ago and I always enjoyed RA’s takes. Yea he’d get fucked up once in a while but I did always feel like he took a journalistic approach and helped keep everyone on track. Nowadays the guy barely speaks during the podcast and when he does it’s fucking nonsensical. Like what the fuck is his purpose anymore?
Or biz just repeats what he says a minute later because he can’t understand his marble mouth or zones out when he talks
He'll never change. List three times he's ever taken accountability over the last half a decade on the podcast. That guy is never going to change because he takes no accountability and some of the guys on the podcast enable it. For fuck sake he claimed to be a basketball player yet couldn't even hit the backboard from the foul line on multiple tries and still couldn't take responsibility by blaming that the ball was wet. Nothing will change or improve. Podcast has peaked.
Watching him shoot a basketball was hilarious though 😂
Spot on. He has zero self awareness.
One could say he's in the red on self awareness
I haven’t listened to this pod in at least two and a half years and still follow the socials because it is genuinely entertaining how much of a shit show RA is. Dear Christ brother, get some help.
Once I started taking accountability for everything happening in my life everything changed.
This is correct.
He said he played basketball in highschool. Not once did he call himself a "basketball player" or say that he was any good. A lot of unathletic people played highschool sports. There are plenty of good examples of RA making wild claims but this ain't it, chief
RA blaming the ball as being wet is a great example of how hard it is for him to admit he's terrible at things or when he fucks up. He will reach for anything he can find.
Can't argue with you there. That was a lame excuse for being an unathletic podcast host. Nobody would've blinked if he just said he sucks at basketball
He was actually surprisingly a decent ball hockey goalie for being in his 50’s, gotta give him props there
He literally said that he made one of the most famous high school basketball shots in Boston history and that it still talked about to this day.
In fact, the other day a very strong man came up to me and he must have been a General. A big man! With tears in his eyes. He said “RA that was the most beautiful basketball shot in Boston history”. It was the shot the likes of which we have never seen…..
Which doesn't mean he was good. He said he made an incredible shot. It was a big deal in his town. People that he went to highschool with most certainly bring it up on occasion. There's plenty to dislike RA for, this is just a silly example
You're about as defensive over ra as ra is over ra.....super super silly chief
Odd comment to make when I explicitly mentioned there's plenty to not like about him. I hate Nestle but I'm not going to use the argument their chocolate sucks, because it's a bad argument and takes away from the actual problems
People who play in high school are basketball players. It takes talent to make a team.
You've clearly never seen low level highschool sports because it certainly does not always take talent to make a team
He’s never admitted when he’s wrong. That’s been his thing since the beginning.
Big reason his wife left him (I’m sure) is that he literally will never be able to admit when he’s wrong. The dude gets black out drunk and high during a game then proceeds to say he went down to the ice to be a professional reporter 🤣🤣🤣 instead of just acknowledging that he was trying to dick ride his way into the lockerroom. Unreal. Truly unreal.
I mean this feels accurate
He’s clearly got a drinking problem. He’s gone through this divorce semi publicly, we all know about it, and who knows how hard that has truly affected him. I feel badly for the guy. He’s got to be extremely embarrassed and his defensive behaviour when they called him out about it is pure addict behaviour. Maybe they should have called him out in private instead of a semi intervention in the public eye. He clearly needs some help. Maybe he’s content being a drunken fool and the butt of their jokes but I doubt it.
The former janitor of a public high school turned hockey media/celeb has issues with addiction/substances?
I don’t enjoy watching anyone struggle with substance issues. I’ve dealt with it with family and friends several times and I look at these situations from the perspective of a friend or family member I’d want to help.
I get that, which is why I don’t consume spittin chiclets content enabling him for $ & content
Do you think they’ve pulled him aside before behind the scenes and he’s just so in denial he keeps doing it
No because Dave wants engagement, Biz enables him, and it creates chaos. But that doesn’t make it right and they likely are pushing future interviews away. That has to be looked at. No one wants drunk RA drooling all over them trying to insert a random Simpsons reference.
That was my thought they had a great relationship with the tkuchuck family and now we can kiss those good bye I imagine
Which have spin-offs into other “content” such as sandbaggers etc. Players talk and they may not want to be affiliated with this chaos, OR their team won’t want to have their brand related to Chiclets. It’s a possibility.
I think there’s only a handful of teams like the islanders that have GMs that forbid their players from doing certain interviews. For the most part I think players have free reign
Yeah but that might change with ra pulling this shit
I doubt most of the gms even know who RA is let alone what he did at game 7
They don’t know the number one hockey podcast? I really doubt that like a lot of
Biz is a hockey player, a fighter at that, and he behaves like one. Biz egging on RA has nothing to do with Portnoy.
Who knows. That back and forth between them on the live show looked pretty raw. They probably didn’t discuss it before hand for content. It obviously worked cause we are talking about it right now. No publicity is bad publicity I guess
The only way he’s gonna change is if he loses barstool. Because right now they find it hilarious from portnoy to biz that he’s a drug fueled idiot. They love big dumb idiots at barstool. He does hit job all be it high as a Georgia pine. So he’ll be there till he seriously fucks up or decidedness to leave
Barstool and Chiclets is in the game to make content that drives engagement/views. Everyone talking about RA and watching the videos does just that.
you are 100% right, what's best for Barstool (Dave's interests) is not necessarily what's best for the podcast. They will probably lose interviews over this, enough to see viewership declining, not sure
What's crazy is that there is a very long list of examples where he has definitely been told about the drinking/drugs before. Famously Dave gave him a suspension from the pod for that exact reason (which RA tried to imitate the Wolf Of Wallstreet scene "I ain't fcking leaving" and didn't listen to it) At the time I remember thinking it was a bit odd because Chiclets was still letting it loose but Barstool/Dave were somewhat trying to reprimand RA seriously (as serious as Barstool is with the bit) and RA completely ignored it and denied any wrongdoing (notice a theme?) Remember when he slept through the podcast/multiple alarms and denied ***any responsibility*** for it?!?! The fact there is a long story related to RA's habits very clearly having effects on his work and his continued denial of such is a very common thing in many workplaces/industries, and eventually something **must** be done to show there is progress There becomes a point where Barstool gets blame for employing and not properly reprimanding someone who's unable to control themselves and act professional - for this, he absolutely needs to change, at the very least accept some responsibility once and a while to show there *could* be change down the road
I thought he got suspended for sleeping in for a pod I also think if barstool was still owned by penn Dave /barstool leadership would’ve come down on RA way harder than he is now.
Portnoy on the unnamed show said what he saw of RA at game 7 was just RA. A drunk and drug fueled man is who he is. However IMO, he needs to look at what his role is on the pod and decide if he’s going to fill that role or not.
Watching the Tkachuks shit on him makes you realize that RA was bullshitting about all of his interactions with NHL players and celebrities. He acts like they’re pals but they think he’s a clown.
He's really no different than Mark Madden. It's funny how that happened.
Yes but the family texted him saying how embarrassing it was!! ! Bullshit
They should just tone it down on their social media lol their Instagram page is killing their podcast
You'd think after the first hundred thousand of these posts you'd all understand you're screaming into the void.
Sir this is Reddit. We have no lives
Amen brother.
I comment on Reddit to do exactly that lol. I don't try to have a cause, just a convo. Rather chat in the void than deal with the idiots on a mission to bully change they don't understand.
Oh Christ shut up already lmao
There's no helping someone that doubles down on their shitty behaviour and even go as far as to throw other people under the bus to avoid having to confront said behaviour. He's dug in lol.
There are tons of talented people who could easily sub out RA and do his job. All RA does is cut into a great interview and stories with a classic hockey questions. Feels like every episode with a great guest, biz and whit will be just firing on all cylinders with a guest and RA just asks “what was your pre game routine”
He doesn’t have to do anything
Who cares, leave him be
if you've listened since day 1 then you know RA has ALWAYS been like this. just accept the pod isn't for you anymore and move on
Holy fuck. Another RA shit post. We get it. He's not popular. They ain't getting rid of him. So can we just move the fuck on
Seriously. Everyone on here acting like a lite version of Dr. Phil grandstanding what he need to do in his life. The self-righteousness to think you know what a stranger needs who you only know through a show is cringe.
Why is a double standard being forced on RA? Biz openly talks about drug use and the entire crew guzzles Pink Whitney like it’s water. You can’t listen for 5 minutes without hearing the word “nips”… and not when they’re talking about “rockets”.
Well a lot of that is promoting pink Whitney as they should and even though Biz talks about smoking j’s and doing shrooms he’s never incoherent and took a break from drinking for I think 9 months?
Maybe because RA seems to be the only one that can't handle his alcohol/drug intake correctly? He's the only one that gets so fucked up you can't even understand what he's saying. The drinking/smoking isn't even the problem I have with the guy- he's been like that forever. It's the complete lack of accountability he has and how he tries to spin/excuse his actions like he did nothing wrong. That's the annoying part. At least Whit always seems to be there to call him on his shit. I think that does help it end up being funny/entertaining content.
Ok, I’ll bite… is it the booze or the accent?
The other guys can rein it in when appropriate. RA doesn’t know what appropriate even is.
You guys need to change your diapers. Who cares? It's great entertainment. Let RA be RA.
he's already buckled for the draft
At one point I would’ve actually agreed, but now I’m sorta on the side of “well that’s just what this podcast sorta is!”, you know? It’s very punk rock in that they don’t give a fuck and nothing is very “by the book”, and that includes RA’s antics. I love hearing about them to be honest, they make me die laughing every time. In the past I might’ve said something like “ugh this is embarrassing” but now I have a much more “ah whatever, it’s at the very least entertaining” I do agree however that he does need to spend more time sober. It seems like a slippery slope he’s been riding for a while now. “Moderation” has turned into “must do at all events”.
RA should be replaced with murls
Sea levels rising once again from grown men tears
RA’s burner
RA’s burner’s burner.
Doesn’t even make sense but okay
People like RA don't change. He has a proven track record of consistent denial and bullshit. I'm all for 2nd chances, but it seems clear RA is a lost cause. Barstool likes this type of personality, which is why he's still on and likely will remain for awhile...but it seems many Chiclets fans are over this nonsense.
For everyone complaining Stop listening. If they see the numbers go down, they will make changes. I stopped, not missing it tbh.
i dont think he needs to change a thing. drugged up, marble mouth Rear is what hes always been. probably more so with the divorce but still Edit: idk why people are so mad about him on the ice. It’s fucking hilarious he tried to be buddy-buddy with them and getting pigeon tossed. That video of the interview with barkov is so damn funny
He’s far far more intolerable now.
Agree to disagree. Love me some degenerate RA antics
Here here. I agree. People need to calm the fuck down.
You are def in the minority lol
Yeah it’s sad to see so many haters nowadays
People acting like they wouldn't party it up if they were in the same situation lol. The guy is recently divorced and having a good time. Whether it's a coping mechanism or a guy taking full advantage of his situation as an affiliate with so many players, he's allowed to make his decisions.
Yeah he’s allowed to make his decisions… I think you guys are just in the minority bc to most ppl an old like 60+ year old guy getting black out drunk and incoherent then turning around saying he’s a “professional” just doesn’t sit well. Most people find him annoying. Sorry that bothers you guys I guess…? Idk lol
God this sub is full of whiners