Rico Bosco goes blank as Dave Portnoy reveals $500K loss

Week 8 of Pick Em went live Wednesday night with El Pres, Big Cat and Rico Bosco on the panel, and the first clips hit the timeline within minutes.

Viva La Stool

@VivaLaStool

Meco Bosco

"Meco Bosco" is the fan-account nickname slapped on Rico for this one, and it tells you where the episode's energy went. Pick Em is supposed to be about the slate. This week the story was a number: half a million dollars, said out loud by Dave, to Rico's face.

If you've watched this show for any length of time, you know the dynamic. Dave is the boss with the money and the volume, and Rico is the guy who gets needled about his takes, his picks and his contract on a weekly basis. A $500K figure from Dave tends to come with the expectation of a big reaction from the guy across the table. Rico didn't give him one.

Viva La Stool

@VivaLaStool

Rico’s eyes when Dave first told him that he lost a half a million dollars:

Viva La Stool

@VivaLaStool

Meco Bosco t.co/3c7Ow01x8n

That's the whole bit, and it works. No outburst, no apology, no counter-argument, just a stare at the mic that looks like a man doing math he doesn't want to finish. The show hasn't said on the record exactly what wager the money rode on or how it fell apart, so take the specifics with a grain of salt until Dave or Rico tell it in full. The number, and the face that greeted it, were enough to carry the night.

What to watch next is obvious: whether Dave keeps bringing up the $500K every week, which history says he will, and whether Rico ever gets to tell his side of it. With Pick Em back again next Wednesday, Rico has 7 days to come up with something better than the stare.