As you could probably tell, I am fully immersed into the Bill Simmons clique. I adore all the personalities in his eclectic crew. The fact that they all met only when he joined Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2003 is baffling because their bond seems so concrete that you'd have assumed they were tight for decades. ⭐️ Simmons has introduced us to his childhood friends, Kimmel-centric talents, ancillary dudes that are connected to them, and of course, his representation, super agent James "BabyDoll" Dixon. 💰 For those of you who are uneducated, here's a brief rundown of SOME of these hysterical men: 🚨 Jimmy Kimmel (Late Night Host) Adam Carolla (Podcast King) Jack-O (Yankee die-hard) House (Eating Champion) Dave Dameshek (NFL Shill) Cousin Sal (Prankster Extraordinaire) All this is to set the table for the recent goings on in LA, at their annual Fantasy Football Draft. As someone who strives to add insult to all situations, Cousin Sal is a fucking maniacal genius. He added a controversial rule to the league a handful of years ago. 🏈 In order to spice things up, the previous season's winner would show up to draft and BANISH one of the contestants for the season, with NO notice or hints prior. ❓ Does that sound excruciating? It is! Having said that, it is worth noting that several years ago, the winning team (partners) simply did not have the stomach to make a decision, so they mandated that the other guys would all vote, Survivor-style. As it turns out, Dave Dameshek was amongst 3-4 guys who ended up gang-voting Sal out. While Dave was a voter, it was known that he was really the mastermind of this result. 💣 Fast forward to last week in Los Angeles. Cousin Sal entered the draft as the reigning champion. All involved could expect him to go for the jugular, Dameshek being the most likely victim. But, as he is apt to do, Sal truly thought about this, a LOT! 💉 (As an aside, I implore you to listen to Damshek on Carolla's podcast last week, giving the play-by-play; it is a glorious bit of audio.) 🎤 We can all thank Carolla (and by proxy Mike August, who has no fucking clue how to record a video on a cell phone) for the marvelous clip above, allowing us all to enjoy the festivities. 📲 So, as I mentioned, Sal put a lot of effort into this responsibility; he did not take this lightly. Allowing those attending to swayed by misdirection, it led to a phenomenal high note. 💥 Rather than just announce who would be taking a year-long sabbatical, he would place the names of the 4 "finalists", composed of those nefarious voters who booted Sal years ago, into a hat, picking at random. 🍀 From there, two names would be pulled out, having to duel via tasks while competing against each other. The loser, it was assumed, would then have to endure the walk of shame. 😡 Really? How could we be so gullible? This is SAL IACONO we are talking about here. This motherfucker doesn't play with you when it comes to playing with you. 🔫 Well, shiiiiiiiiiiit! I was on the floor fucking dying as I watched the above unfold. Unreal, simply unreal. The reaction of everyone was excellent but the ROAR that erupted upon the final realization was FANTASTIC! 😂 I feel like these dudes are my friends too, if only because most/all of these guys are so open with their lives, and happen to have outlets to connect to us with. But you can tell just how solid the bond between them all is. Regardless of the ribbing and ball-busting, they are still friends with no ill will. It is a testament to how relationships can roll when nurtured correctly. 👊🏻 I may have mentioned this once or twice in recent posts, but I cannot fucking wait until next week, when Simmons tenure at HBO starts! Should be an awesome Fall now... 🎧 #SHEKMATE 🏆🙌🏻🚨🔥💯🔫🎉💰🔋😱