Bill Simmons, trending.

With regards to The Ringer in particular, and podcasts in general, part of evaluating Simmons' statements on "open mic night" and what not is that we lack any information, on the outside, about the validity of them. How substantial is the difference between the Simmons, Ryan and Fennessey "Rewatchables" crew vs. another one? I imagine they might know internally, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a good part of that particular issue is that Simmons just *likes* doing a lot of the movies himself, and wants to dictate what they do episodes on. Like, they've done episodes on "Fletch" and "Draft Day" and "Godfather III." Simmons has been on the last nine episodes, and 19 of the last 20.

Regarding giving a shot to others - I think the best organizations, obviously, nourish "growing" talents by using established talents to bring in revenue, whether we're talking newspapers, professional wrestling, ESPN or the movie industry. Simmons got his break at ESPN because they started Page Two, which was an attempt to get more statistical and satirical takes on the website beyond the by-the-numbers sports coverage they mostly had at ESPN.com. At least from the outside looking in, I don't think the Ringer has done as well of a job at hiring people with potential, or, nourishing the people they have hired - chicken and egg problem as to the cause, but still.

 

This is an excellent post, and explains much of the reason for problems in any discussion or problem-solving efforts in regard to racial matters.

That is , whether someone is white, or black, or any other race seems to be all that matters in them, and that is simply not a true or correct representation, or reason -- for much of anything, really. It is, as The Big Ragu says, a gross oversimplification of matters, and people, and their motivations and influencing factors.

The way I sensed The Big Ragu thinking/feeling in this post is exactly how I've been thinking/feeling lately every time I read the words "white privilege." They're condescending, insulting uninformed -- and therefore very ineffectual in any discussion such as this -- in a way that is difficult to explain, or separate from simply being "white," but they don't make me want to jump in and try to solve any issues, that's for sure.

 

"Nephew Kyle" was called "Kyle" in the latest podcast.

 

I have great respect for what Simmons did as a trail-blazer, promoter of talent (such as Zach Lowe) and content genius who did impressive things. I enjoy his content because I love the NBA and I can tolerate the deep dives into obscure topics, such as the 2007 draft. I don't buy him as "first writer to use pop culture references" and his Celtics references and obsessive need to rank "top 6 comedy moments involving karaoke since 1990" are a needle scratch. The weakest part of the Ringer is that it is too often Clever Person Watches on TV and Writes" and there's no real reporting. As Dan O'Shaugnessy pointed out, it's not ideal over the long haul for getting information. The Ringer is part of the parasitic ecosystem that punishes local reporters and rewards that kind of platform.

I hope he hires in a better way and keeps improving. He is much better than Barstool and some of the other mass-appeal sports content areas.

 

Is it possible Simmons resides on the autism spectrum?

 

Agree. Also, print-wise, too many lists, too many boring awards and signing stories, to much previewing and rehashing of games and not enough human-interest stories on the athletes who actually play the games (when they're playing them, that is). This, by the way, is an excellent time for human interest because there's little else compelling to write.

 

Simmons (and everything he touches) reminds me of the book/movie Ready Player One, where a guy hides a fortune using clues from pop culture he deemed relevant, 1980s music, video games and Dungeons and Dragons lore. So the whole world, trying to solve the mystery and find the treasure, becomes obsessed strictly with the things this guy decided to be “cool.”

The Ringer lacks diversity? Gee, maybe it’s because everyone there obsess over whatever Simmons thought was cool 25 years ago.

You’d have to be a moron to go to a job interview with him without conjuring up some faux creative take on a 3-(of 5)-star 90s movie, a recent HBO series 2% of the country watched or whether or not the actual result of a big game is changed when you decide to record the game at home while attending the game in person.

Anyway, gotta to rewatch “Can’t Hardly Wait.”

 

That's also because nobody likes reading anymore.

If it's not a shiny list or more than 280 characters, you don't have much of an audience anymore.

 

And also because there are no more staffs and no more pages, so what else can you do except lists and the bare minimum w/stories?

 

You must have missed the SportsCentury special on Tyrone Willingham