k
― lag∞n, Saturday, 9 May 2015 17:37 (eight years ago) link
the amount of money simmons brings ESPN is probably a drop in their overall bucket.
^ this
roger goodell may be a monster, but game recognizes game so to speak, and the ceo of espn knows that the nfl is worth billions to them, and goodell (being a monster like himself) will doubtless crush any entity that even vaguely threatens his vastly profitable machine. so spinner obligingly crushed simmons as a gesture of good will toward goodell, as one monster to another. that's business, ladies and gentlemen.
― Aimless, Saturday, 9 May 2015 18:18 (eight years ago) link
Yea you don't stop to the lord god nfl and expect to come out clean in the end
― panettone for the painfully alone (mayor jingleberries), Saturday, 9 May 2015 18:26 (eight years ago) link
all true i respect simmons for being a rebel and speaking truth to power in this case
― lag∞n, Saturday, 9 May 2015 18:40 (eight years ago) link
and publicly beefing w yr evil employer is p cool / more ppl shd do it
― lag∞n, Saturday, 9 May 2015 18:41 (eight years ago) link
― Aimless, Saturday, May 9, 2015 2:18 PM (44 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
no one should be celebrating this
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 9 May 2015 19:19 (eight years ago) link
i don't think the nfl had a whole lot to do with this decision on espn's part
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 10 May 2015 03:44 (eight years ago) link
spinner just wanted simmons to spend more time with his family?
― Aimless, Sunday, 10 May 2015 03:46 (eight years ago) link
who is spinner? what are you talking about?
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 10 May 2015 03:50 (eight years ago) link
sorry, the ceo of espn is skipper
― Aimless, Sunday, 10 May 2015 03:53 (eight years ago) link
aw sad that a dullard lost a gig
― hunangarage, Sunday, 10 May 2015 05:43 (eight years ago) link
Damn, it's really hitting me now. No more podcasts. No more Guesss the Lines with Cousin Sal. No more mailbags. This really sucks. Fuck you, ESPN.
― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, 10 May 2015 14:12 (eight years ago) link
lolol
― mookieproof, Sunday, 10 May 2015 18:50 (eight years ago) link
bill mad halftime wasnt longer my lord
He also seemed frustrated by what he considered the inadequate amount of time devoted to halftime, and other ancillary shows, and objected to slotting pre- and post-game coverage directly opposite big playoff games on other networks.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/inside-shocking-abrupt-divorce-bill-simmons-and-espn
― lag∞n, Sunday, 10 May 2015 22:10 (eight years ago) link
my dvr says there is a new episode of the grantland basketball hour on tuesday but i'm guessing that is not going to happen. it would be great tho if they replaced him as host w/ someone and made jalen and lowe sit through it all like nothing happened.
― Clay, Monday, 11 May 2015 01:34 (eight years ago) link
that piece says the BS report might continue with a new host, which...
― k3vin k., Monday, 11 May 2015 01:36 (eight years ago) link
ya u know theyre gonna cant just let all those subscribers go
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 01:45 (eight years ago) link
big steendriver report
― mookieproof, Monday, 11 May 2015 01:59 (eight years ago) link
The author of that story in Vanity fair seems to think that Simmons' criticism of Roger Goodell had a whole lot to do with his firing.
― Aimless, Monday, 11 May 2015 04:35 (eight years ago) link
bill is sadhttp://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--WUGsExgy--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1246882598124803732.jpg
― slothroprhymes, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:28 (eight years ago) link
:(
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:46 (eight years ago) link
one thing thats weird abt this is the universal acclaim for the 30 for 30 series, like theyre alright prob better than ur average basic cable doc but nothing on level of what say pbs regularly produces and nowhere near a theatrical release, some of them ive seen have been down right bad like the loyola marymount one showing hank gathers collapsing in slow mo 100 times and only showing 5 seconds of game footage while spending a good chunk of the piece talking about their crazy exciting style of play
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:51 (eight years ago) link
do tons of ppl watch them are they a huge ratings winner why do they merit such high praise
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:52 (eight years ago) link
winning time, benji, bad boys, price of gold all really good imo
― slothroprhymes, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:54 (eight years ago) link
bad boys /is/ marred by its kid rock narration though :l
― slothroprhymes, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:55 (eight years ago) link
is it cause there has to be a non writing simmons endeavor writers can point and and be like this was successful otherwise ur just left with a money losing website and a flameout as a tv guy
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:55 (eight years ago) link
or was espn paying him $5m a year to write infrequently and dispassionately
the podcast is v popular i guess but its hard to srsly argue for a pod even in our post serial reality
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:57 (eight years ago) link
yeah there were some good ones and some bad ones, speaks to lowering standards for tv and sports coverage as much as anything. i wonder if some of the acclaim they got in the media was due to the fact that espn was funding the directors to pursue an idea and presentation of their choosing, seems like no particular style was dictated and espn was fairly hands-off.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 May 2015 15:59 (eight years ago) link
i thought broke was really bad, jesus was that a missed opportunity.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:01 (eight years ago) link
mostly they kinda came off as boring ponderous behind the sports music
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:02 (eight years ago) link
wait what are these awesome sports docs pbs regularly produces that i've been missing
― balls, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:03 (eight years ago) link
that wld be cool, just meant docs generally
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:04 (eight years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/aUFn3yd.jpg
daddys nap time
yeah i think what alot of ppl liked about 30 for 30 was it wasn't ye olde ken burns baseball reverence/stories told a million times. different strokes for different folx though.
― balls, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:05 (eight years ago) link
due to the fact that espn was funding the directors to pursue an idea and presentation of their choosing, seems like no particular style was dictated and espn was fairly hands-off.
thats definitely a huge part of why they were well-regarded, far as i can tell
the nelson george doc about magic johnson is pretty good, that and the others i named and four days in october (which is objectively a mediocre doc but, yknow, red sox #feelings) are all i've seen
― slothroprhymes, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:06 (eight years ago) link
i wasnt suggesting a ken bunrs style fwiw just pointing out that on a weekly basis frontline / nova / american experience do much high quality work than 30/30 which is much closer to a history channel/vh1 just standard not that great slapped together tv doc, they just seem totally unremarkable quality wise as well as style and subject matter
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:08 (eight years ago) link
it wasn't ye olde ken burns baseball reverence/stories told a million times
― balls, Monday, May 11, 2015 12:05 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
none of them were exactly obscure subjects lol
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:09 (eight years ago) link
did u guys know chris webber called a timeout
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:10 (eight years ago) link
miami hurricanes were good in the 80s
some of them were! the usfl one was fun.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:15 (eight years ago) link
though it's gotten away from that. initially it was let talented ppl (ok or 'talented' ppl) tell stories that haven't been told a million times before, w/ the appeal being that you had different styles plus fresh stories as opposed to hbo uniform sports docs about the brooklyn dodgers. it was hit or miss even then (and not in predictable ways ie the barbara kopple one being one of the worst ones) but it was entertaining as hell at its best (the oj one, the u, the reggie/knicks one). it is funny though cuz that first wave was a big ratings and critical hit and then espn just shelved it until simmons publicly bitched and moaned enough that they brought it back. they've figured out 'o right, easy cash cow' and the distinctiveness is gone (can't remember the last time they bragged about the director of one of these) plus they're doing hbo type stories (again w/ the willis reed knicks) but even those are usually entertaining and occasionally they still produce one that seems unique and specific to the 30 for 30 idea - the big east one, i hate christian laetnner. i mean a pbs one would spend half the time w/ frank deford explaining who christian laetnner was and what basketball is, then wonder why anyone could hate duke it's one of our finest universities and coach k is an inspiring figure to the young men he's been a father figure to, and then expose its viewers to the shocking reality that college sports is corrupt and exploitive.
― balls, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:16 (eight years ago) link
yeah i mean some of them r cool just wondering why the universal praise when they are quite obviously totally ordinary
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:17 (eight years ago) link
also frontline wld make a million times better christian laetnner one, american experience maybe not
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:18 (eight years ago) link
spoken like a man who's never heard npr's sports coverage
― balls, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:19 (eight years ago) link
initially it was let talented ppl (ok or 'talented' ppl) tell stories that haven't been told a million times before, w/ the appeal being that you had different styles plus fresh stories as opposed to hbo uniform sports docs about the brooklyn dodgers.
― balls, Monday, May 11, 2015 12:16 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i mean i understand that this is the marketing pitch but i dont think its actually is what happened, prob partially cuase simmons was involved and his idea of doing something different is still gonna be very conventional
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:20 (eight years ago) link
also frontline wld make a million times better christian laetnner one
i think the point is that frontline's not going to bother.
― slothroprhymes, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:21 (eight years ago) link
i mean i can guarantee you in the frontline laetnner one unlv and michigan are the bad guys
― balls, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:21 (eight years ago) link
although i'm sure all things being equal that statement is true xp to self
― balls, Monday, May 11, 2015 12:21 PM (12 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
omg u clearly are clearly not a regular frontline viewer
― lag∞n, Monday, 11 May 2015 16:22 (eight years ago) link