bill simmons IS bill simmons IN the book of BASKETBALL

naw theyve got a special thing for him

i mean they literally published a piece owning up to a while ago

the best argument against him I've read was something about how ESPN and Simmons need each other, how ESPN needs Simmons to prevent themselves from looking too controlling and one-sided, as he has opinions that are often controversial and un-PC, while Simmons needs ESPN because it allows readers to feel like he actually is wittier/edgier than his Disney-sponsored articles imply

well he's easily the biggest sportswriter in the country, it's not crazy that they write a lot about him

frogbs, ESPN doesn't need simmons because he gives them an edge. ESPN needs simmons cuz he's the most popular sportswriter in america and brings in a massive readership.

jordan what i said abt him being their idol and then them feeling weird abt it is what they said u should read it

it was by will lietch sometime in like the last 3 years iirc

its more about how they need a guy *like* Simmons. obviously there's nothing about BS in particular that makes him worthy of his popularity, but rather the idea that he's an ESPN-sponsored columnist who appears to be unrestricted

its more about how they need a guy *like* Simmons. obviously there's nothing about BS in particular that makes him worthy of his popularity, but rather the idea that he's an ESPN-sponsored columnist who appears to be unrestricted

― frogs you are the dumbest asshole (frogbs), Friday, January 27, 2012 5:37 PM (0 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i disagree w/ this -- if simmons left espn, his readership would follow him. if espn brought in a second rate version of simmons, that person would not do the same numbers.

jordan what i said abt him being their idol and then them feeling weird abt it is what they said u should read it

― lag∞n, Friday, January 27, 2012 5:37 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it was by will lietch sometime in like the last 3 years iirc

― lag∞n, Friday, January 27, 2012 5:37 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

will leitch's constant self-conscious navel gazing has little to do w/ the current incarnation of deadspin

it's when he says crap like "the Colts intentionally threw a playoff game in 2007 because they knew they weren't going to beat the Patriots anyway" when you realize that he's kind of an insufferable prick

He says stuff like this about basketball ALL THE TIME

I don't think very many people would follow frog bill simmons, even if frog bill simmons were writing for espn.com

if Grantland wasn't backed by ESPN I would think it would be a miserable failure

If some dumb lady wants to be in my fantasy league I will happily take her money.

will leitch's constant self-conscious navel gazing has little to do w/ the current incarnation of deadspin

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 27, 2012 5:39 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

dude read the thing, it included an anecdote abt him and aj daulario and i think another deadspin guy excitedly watching the first ep of jmmy kimmel live because simmons wrote for it, he was their hero

if Grantland wasn't backed by ESPN I would think it would be a miserable failure

― frogs you are the dumbest asshole (frogbs), Friday, January 27, 2012 5:42 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this is sort of an unsolvable chicken/egg thing

if simmons went solo hed still do well but obvs not as good as on espn

like he could just have a blog and get a shit ton of hits and not have to share the money w/anyone

if simmons went solo hed still do well but obvs not as good as on espn

― lag∞n, Friday, January 27, 2012 5:53 PM (14 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

of course not, which is why he's never left them. also he has the security of a salary, which is presumably very high.

i think he probably would've left espn by now but they realized his value and agreed to let him take on two pet projects in 30 for 30 and grantland

i imagine hes secure many times over by now

yeah... i think he's said as much interviews that espn helping him do 30 for 30 was a big deal in terms of him staying there, and grantland presumably falls in the same category

he has a p sweet deal 4 sure

speaking as a boston native and someone who journeyed home to experience the red sox winning their first championship of my lifetime, bostonians were really dialed into simmons during that series, everyone was talking abt his columns, it was now that i think abt it kinda remarkable

― lag∞n, Friday, January 27, 2012 4:36 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm, despite his numerous and well-documented failings this was an amazing time. i still remember anticipating his columns like crazy.

The Sox in general were fun to read about when they were perennial almosts. Now that all the Boston teams have recent titles, though...

yeah it's actually kind of a curse for a sportswriter. nobody wants to read about the fan experience of a guy whose teams are averaging one title every 1.5 years. when the Royals finally win a World Series I can't wait to read Posnanski's article on it, even if he's senile because he'll be 250 years old

yah same wavelength as the fans was simmons credo, now days we call that 'blogging'

otm

let us compare the players on a (basketball, of course) team to the brothers in 'the godfather', mix in an '80s (karate kid?) reference, and cap it by saying 'can we make this happen?'

having a regularly interesting take on sports is really hard, and churning out regular columns for decades is not something i can even imagine. but dude has become as much of a caricature as CHB and reilly.

Hear me out. If LeBron James is Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, having abandoned his side for a distant tropical outpost, occasionally sending forth increasingly strange statements via radio transmission (or in James' case, Twitter), then Kobe Bryant is Willard, leading his unhinged but capable group upriver (consider the unarmed Vietnamese family to be, for the sake of example, the Golden State Warriors in round 1.) Dwyane Wade is Dennis Hopper and Chris Bosh is the sacrificed cow, looking confused but serving a purpose nonetheless. (In this scenario Andrew Bynum is Laurence Fishburne, Pau Gasol is Frederic Forrest, Luke Walton is Sam Bottoms, Albert Hall is Phil Jackson.)

would bet that BS views apocalypse now as a pro-war movie

Dwyane Wade is Dennis Hopper and Chris Bosh is the sacrificed cow

omar little IS omar little IN ______

http://deadspin.com/billsimmonsarchive more to come I guess

i actually kinda liked his new article about starting the NBA season later until he brought up his profoundly dumb "entertaining as hell tournament" idea for the 12th time

i always like ideas abt how to change things

i think living in l.a. as a quasi-insider for the last decade has sort of rotted simmons' brain. like he can only think in marketing gimmicks now. he writes about his fucking tournament idea almost as much as he writes about actual basketball.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7562176/the-sports-guy-nba-all-star-team

My third favorite moment was when we massaged the West's glut of quality forwards by making James Harden a guard; it was one of those "What the hell? We're in charge here!" moments where you feel like you're playing God and it's awesome.

is this backwards or?

pretty terrible column actually. keeps forgetting harden is a 2 for some reason

I don't think he watches games very much

yeah i had the exact same reaction. somehow simmons convinced himself that one of the best young shooting guards in the league is a forward. like maybe he thinks harden doesn't start b/c he "plays the same postion" as durant? and he says it or implies it at least 3 times.

says or implies that he's a 3 that is

I think it's embarrassing that Springsteen now has his wife front and center playing guitar with the E Street Band. There's nothing worse than someone interjecting their spouse into the creative proceedings when she didn't really earn the spot. By the way, my wife wrote this.

lol

fairly good linsanity piece usual simmionsisms aside http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7579097/linsanity-bag feel like he gave the magnitude of the thing its due

the entire part about lebron is so utterly retarded

or is it lebron thats so utterly retarded, think abt it

it takes someone who has only spent his life in boston and los angeles to not understand why someone who grew up in ohio -- even one of the best basketball players ever -- wouldn't really give that much of a shit about "owning" new york

anyone from new york or boston: HE COULD'VE OWNED NEW YORK
anyone that grew up/lives in any other part of the united states: uhhh who gives a shit?

it was funny tho to see knicks fans still massive butthurt about lebron not even considering joining their decrepit franchise for a second

i feel like 'lebron is a pussy' is an excellent and hilarious nba meme even if it has not that much basis in reality, i support it

also it was hilarious when the one emailer said that the knicks have a legit shot of winning the nba title

if lebron had gone to new york everyone wouldve been complaining abt him being an egomaniac moviestar wannabe or w/e, lol he cannot win, because hes a pussy