also i think i've picked up a lot of purposeful non-investment in the tone of their music writing, which again is prob not "important" but kinda gets at me
― J0rdan S., Friday, 27 April 2012 16:20 (eleven years ago) link
long thread but important
bill simmons IS bill simmons IN the book of BASKETBALL
― am0n, Friday, 27 April 2012 16:25 (eleven years ago) link
also here's his sports version of "adele_plump_female_musicians_sex.php"
http://deadspin.com/5878436/tennis-players-bill-simmons-would-do-another-classic-from-the-secret-sports-guy-vault
― am0n, Friday, 27 April 2012 16:29 (eleven years ago) link
also also worst thread title ban NYCNative
― am0n, Friday, 27 April 2012 16:31 (eleven years ago) link
Charles P. Pierce's articles are good (because he's a good writer who hopefully is getting paid wheelbarrows of cash by ESPN to slum)Jonah Keri's 'The 30' weekly baseball round-up is also good
you could set the rest of the blog on fire, the wonder and amazement they have at the audacity of covering omg reality tv is fucking horrible
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Friday, 27 April 2012 18:03 (eleven years ago) link
oh also barnwell on football is solid
― J0rdan S., Friday, 27 April 2012 18:05 (eleven years ago) link
Simmons idolizing Malcolm Gladwell probably tells the uninitiated everything they need to know.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Friday, 27 April 2012 18:08 (eleven years ago) link
pretty much agree with the general consensus on this thread that the pop culture stuff is mostly bad, but the sports writing has occasional gems. i really liked colson whitehead on the poker tournament, and i enjoy the wrestling pieces though admittedly i know nothing at all about wrestling.
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 27 April 2012 18:12 (eleven years ago) link
pretty much off topic except that it's sports writing, but i read this recently and it is pretty much the best piece of non-fiction i've ever read about poker:http://www.amazon.com/Positively-Fifth-Street-Murderers-Cheetahs/dp/0374236488
i highly recommend
― Mordy, Friday, 27 April 2012 18:20 (eleven years ago) link
yeah that's considered a classic. i think i have it at my parents house somewhere
― dharunravir (k3vin k.), Friday, 27 April 2012 18:22 (eleven years ago) link
also it sorta seems like aside from tv recaps they're aiming for "you're a 45 year old trying to retain coolness, here's all the stuff you missed today that other people have been flogging for the last six hours"
Somehow this description of it made me realize I am OK with being in Grantland's target demo. And realizing that me passive-aggressively saying I'm OK with that means I've been there for years already.
― jungleous butterflies strange birds (Eric H.), Friday, 27 April 2012 18:23 (eleven years ago) link
I guess I didn't really know this was Jonah Keri's outlet now.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Friday, 27 April 2012 18:26 (eleven years ago) link
Grantland is brimming with NBA playoff excitement. You may have already noticed.
?????
― you can expect punches, kicks and even worse (frogbs), Friday, 27 April 2012 21:00 (eleven years ago) link
this is the only thing i've seen on grantland worth reading
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7789978/a-racetrack-killing-history-organized-crime-hot-springs-arkansas
― am0n, Friday, 27 April 2012 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
Grantland is great for me because it allows me to a) catch up with cable shows that I can't be bothered downloading but get bought up in polite conversation amongst hipster circles in my part of the world and b) sometimes read some non-retarded writing about North American sport.
― Clive "The Chip" Crinkly (King Boy Pato), Friday, 27 April 2012 23:05 (eleven years ago) link
all of their articles are too long
― polyphonic, Friday, 27 April 2012 23:25 (eleven years ago) link
this is one of the best non-specialist pieces abt stan lee i've ever read:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7906504/the-surprisingly-complicated-legacy-marvel-comics-legend-stan-lee
― pat rice memorial barbecue (Ward Fowler), Friday, 11 May 2012 13:52 (eleven years ago) link
the Greg Oden piece is really good and IMO exactly the sort of thing this site *should* be doing
― frogbs, Friday, 11 May 2012 13:59 (eleven years ago) link
I like this site, even though I find Simmons really annoying, unless he is talking about any team in the NBA except the Celtics.
Charles Pierce is excellent.
― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Friday, 11 May 2012 14:14 (eleven years ago) link
imo the site has like a 40/60 hit/miss ratio which really isn't all that bad. i do think they've assembled a pretty good stable of writers. the pop culture stuff seems to be kinda bland but it's not offensive which is probably half the battle.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 11 May 2012 14:15 (eleven years ago) link
They are at least trying to be relatively intelligent. Most of ESPN content, on all of its platforms, is written/produced by morons, for morons, so to see at least an attempt at being smart is somewhat refreshing.
― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Friday, 11 May 2012 14:18 (eleven years ago) link
it's certainly better than it was! the character pieces are definitely good, especially the Amarillo Slim one
― frogbs, Friday, 11 May 2012 14:19 (eleven years ago) link
i really wish this wasn't the kind of thing molly lambert wrote for grantland:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/59116/tabloids
― Mordy, Thursday, 4 October 2012 21:15 (eleven years ago) link
What is an example of something she has written that isn't a complete waste of time.
― pun lovin criminal (polyphonic), Thursday, 4 October 2012 21:34 (eleven years ago) link
i like her stuff from thisrecording.com:
http://thisrecording.com/today/tag/molly-lambert
― Mordy, Thursday, 4 October 2012 21:53 (eleven years ago) link
would much rather read about sweet celeb gossip than some stupid bullshit about telephone poles
― turds (Hungry4Ass), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:02 (eleven years ago) link
http://ll-media.tmz.com/2012/01/26/0126-leo-erin-heatherton-zip-line-launch-ex-1.jpg
― turds (Hungry4Ass), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:04 (eleven years ago) link
i find the celeb gossip stuff really boring and i don't even get that she's doing anything interesting w/ it? idk, celeb gossip is maybe a cultural blind spot for me and maybe there are grantland readers that are like, "thank god molly lambert is finally breaking down gossip in a compelling + vital way, this was much more important than when she was writing critical theory about gender identity." seems like a waste to me.
― Mordy, Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:14 (eleven years ago) link
mordy totally otm grantland wastes the great molly lambert :(
― horseshoe, Friday, 5 October 2012 01:59 (eleven years ago) link
i like gossip a lot but i don't get that feature
all the hyperlinks in her thisrecording pieces drive me up the wall, because im incapable of preventing myself from hovering each one and evaluating if its worth opening in a new tab. i hate it!!!
― turds (Hungry4Ass), Friday, 5 October 2012 02:13 (eleven years ago) link
haha. i still read grantland, i like that there's a writer powerful and popular enough that a mega corporation would give him an entire website and staff just to keep him happy. as far as simmons toys go it's no 30 for 30 but i do appreciate that it does have some interest in longform stuff, that it's clearly guided by someone who's interested in some idea of 'good writing' as opposed to standard seo stuff. nobody w/ any familiarity w/ simmons can be surprised by the gap between it's sports coverage vs it's pop culture coverage - model for sports coverage is the national and golden age si, model for pop coverage is vulture. he's a guy who's seen almost famous a million times (and will let you know) but has little to no interest in actually reading lester bangs. feel like stuff like the lambert tabloid thing is simmons pandering to some idea of what he imagines his wife wants to read or providing cover for his sorta odd interest in stuff like reality tv, celeb gossip, etc.
― balls, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:30 (eleven years ago) link
yeah that feels about right
― call all destroyer, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:31 (eleven years ago) link
grantland is a blackhole
― lag∞n, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:33 (eleven years ago) link
at the beginning of grantland she wrote more sustained celeb gossip type pieces, like a "normal" version of her stuff for thisrecording. i remember liking the one about jennifer aniston. i just don't get the almost-copying-pages-of-us-weekly-verbatim new-style lambert columns. they're unreadable!
― horseshoe, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:36 (eleven years ago) link
yah they're pretty useless
― call all destroyer, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:38 (eleven years ago) link
she doesnt tweet v much anymore either
― lag∞n, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:38 (eleven years ago) link
:(
i miss you, molly!
― horseshoe, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:40 (eleven years ago) link
maybe she's working on a book? i hope so!
― horseshoe, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:41 (eleven years ago) link
i would even read a whole book about goddamn mad men that she's so obsessed with.
― horseshoe, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:42 (eleven years ago) link
i would read that book
― call all destroyer, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:42 (eleven years ago) link
they have both a good baseball writer (Jonah Keri) and a good football one (Bill Barnwell), plus every once in a while there's a neat podcast (like the Obama one), it's not exactly a great website but I kinda dig it now
― frogbs, Friday, 5 October 2012 02:43 (eleven years ago) link
okay they got Norm MacDonald writing for them now, I'm officially a fan
We were trying to come up with New Year’s resolutions. Adam, sober now for over a year but nonetheless still somewhat interesting, said, “Hey, do New Year’s resolutions always have to be good for you?” The thought had never occurred to me. It’d be a helluva lot easier to stick with a New Year's resolution if your resolution was to become a big fat guy, right?
― frogbs, Tuesday, 8 January 2013 16:42 (eleven years ago) link
The physical Grantland books themselves are beautiful.
― sandwich shortage (Eazy), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 16:46 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/66990/jenna-maroney-an-appreciation
― Mordy, Thursday, 31 January 2013 19:58 (eleven years ago) link
the Grantland 64 song best of the millenium thus far bracket is.....kinda depressing? maybe of sociological interest?
Tenative conclusions: white guys from 35-45 are overinvested in thinking Jay and Kanye are still in their prime.....
8 remaining songs look to be:
Rolling, Maybe, Paris, Empire, Paper, Ignition, Yeah!, Hey Ya!
― Swag Heathen (theStalePrince), Monday, 26 August 2013 19:03 (ten years ago) link
kanye is still in his prime
― Treeship, Monday, 26 August 2013 19:05 (ten years ago) link
i voted paper but brightside seems to be winning atm
― Mordy , Monday, 26 August 2013 19:06 (ten years ago) link
thought it was pretty funny how they just c+p'ed p4k's best of the decade list
― k3vin k., Tuesday, 27 August 2013 05:52 (ten years ago) link
― Treeship, Monday, August 26, 2013 12:05 PM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Yeah in the same way that Kobe is.
― I’m pissed off for greatness (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Tuesday, 27 August 2013 06:00 (ten years ago) link
NYC event
http://www.gelfmagazine.com/gelflog/archives/nov_23_grantland_appreciation_night.php
― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 November 2015 17:07 (eight years ago) link
https://www.thenation.com/article/the-second-coming-mtv-news/
not sure if we have a beefs thread for this but the breathless praise for grantland at the start of this piece just reminds me how weird it is that there were grantland readers who actually thought the non-sports stuff was the good part of grantland
― k3vin k., Saturday, 3 December 2016 22:33 (seven years ago) link
wes morris was actually good, rembert was fun. i would actually occasionally read it whereas now the only non-sports stuff i'll even look at on the ringer is serrano or concepcion in funny blogpost about some hbo show mode, every other non-sports writer i react to the sight of their byline the way i did to steve hyden's on grantland. the sports writing isn't as good at the ringer either though it's fine enough, i still check in. i think in a weird way the ringer misses a jonathan abrams than a lowe or barnwell; like they're still doing something like the analysis lowe and barnwell brought but the really solid features abrams could turn out they don't really even seem to attempt. even if #longform doesn't generate the clicks and was responsible for the worst moment grantland had, it's still the kind of brand building thing that can give a patina of 'quality' that can make ppl think they're smart to love/read a sight even if they really go there to find out what character on game of thrones j.r. smith is. it is kinda funny that the sports writers i really enjoyed at grantland stayed at espn and the ones i kinda loathed ended up at si.
― balls, Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:05 (seven years ago) link
I very much miss the Grantland versions of Rembert, Brian Phillips, Emily Yoshida and Molly Lambert.
― El Tomboto, Sunday, 4 December 2016 06:16 (seven years ago) link
<3 katie bakes but it seems like a struggle
― mookieproof, Sunday, 4 December 2016 06:23 (seven years ago) link
how weird it is that there were grantland readers who actually thought the non-sports stuff was the good part of grantland
yeah sorry folks but the fact that ppl read this stuff makes me think they live in an alternative dimension where there are 48 hours in a day or something
― a but (brimstead), Sunday, 4 December 2016 19:33 (seven years ago) link
got what a shitty hypocritical post. sorry
― a but (brimstead), Sunday, 4 December 2016 19:34 (seven years ago) link
― k3vin k.,
I read Morris and Mark Harris all the time.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 4 December 2016 19:36 (seven years ago) link
Rembert Browne's recaps of Designated Survivor almost make me want to start watching the show
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 10 December 2016 00:24 (seven years ago) link
the recent simmons-jalen podcast has some fun inside stuff on the early grantland days and how jalen got started
― k3vin k., Friday, 26 January 2018 22:40 (six years ago) link
the simmons/jalen relationship is super heartwarming btw, very clear they are close buds and care about each other. basically everyone who’s worked with bill says he’s a great guy it seems
― k3vin k., Friday, 26 January 2018 22:41 (six years ago) link
i loved that pod. jalen is a good personality. i listen to jalen and Jacoby on occasion. hilarious that jalen basically stalked bill as a fanboy.
― fgti spinner (Spottie), Friday, 26 January 2018 22:57 (six years ago) link
Former Grantland and SI.com writer Jonah Keri sentenced to 21 months for domestic abuse.
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/disgraced-montreal-sports-writer-jonah-keri-sentenced-to-21-months-for-domestic-abuse-charges-1.5831494
― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 20:00 (two years ago) link