Bill Simmons out at ESPN?

Just a guess - could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time - there's no truth to this.

Legit question - why doesn't ESPN release traffic numbers? I'm guessing you could take their next two most popular writers, combine their average hit tallies, and they wouldn't touch Simmons. You might even be able to take their next 4 most popular writers. Granted he gets better placement, and more face time ... but since Whitlock left, Page 2 doesn't have a No. 2 guy.

You can hate him, rip him, trash his writing, whatever ... but he still delivers readers.

And we'll have a post on Rushin shortly. He certainly wont be going to ESPN.

 

Good riddance.

His work is unreadable and I don't have to hear about his life being revolved about Boston sports.

 

Hopefully they'll hire the current Minnesota Sports Guy to replace him...

 

Wow, this has morphed into such an original thread...

: : :

 

I'm not kidding myself.
He stopped being funny a long time ago.

 

I won't weep if Simmons leaves. I was a fan of his work at one point, simply because it was a novel direction he took. But after several months, it came off as fanboy stuff talking about his personal life and the interest just fell off like Marlon Brando standing on a foldup chair.

 

And if there were no American Idol, most of these people would have never escaped their deserved obscurity. Simmons is a star because ESPN made him one. They can make someone else a star if they want to.

 

Page 2 has been dead for a long time. Seriously - does anyone here still read Page 2?

Where ever Simmons lands I hope he grows a pencil-thin mustache (ala Frank Deford). Is that too much to ask?

 

His Page 2 piece today is on Dennis Johnson, certainly timely and appropriate enough, and mostly OK, when he sticks to the topic. But, of course, he can't resist the temptation to turn half the column into yet another exercise in his fucking obsession of bashing Joe Dumars and anyone and everyone connected with the Detroit Pistons.

Amazingly, he didn't go off for 15,000 words making fun of the Darko Milicic draft choice for the 11 trillionth time. One of many dead horses Simmons simply will not fucking get off. Small steps, I guess.

 

SI would dearly love to have Simmons and the frat-boy demographic he brings. I wouldn't be surprised if they've talked to him already. They certainly would have made a straight-up Rushin-for-Simmons trade in a heartbeat. SI is trying to change its personality -- younger and hipper, less erudite and stodgy -- and Simmons fits perfectly into that, for better or worse.

 

I had two points. One, Simmons was certainly the face of writing. He gave those who took refuge in the internet some legitimacy. Nothing that hasn't been said before. The quality of his stuff tailed off - he had to explain "Jumped the Shark"! But he's certainly one of the more relevant sportswriters, ever. I really like Klosterman. He gets some crap for being a hipster (what is that?), but the guy's got a more original, down-to-earth point of view than Simmons ever has. And the man can think for himself. He took Simmons to pieces in the ill-fated "Curious Guy" segment, he did the same to Bill Maher. He's just a smart dude. Hopefully too smart to take a job at Page 2 and have to write 15 times a month. Simmons in small doses, like way back in 2001, was unbelievable. I think the demand was just so great, he couldn't keep up.

My second point. What the heck is up with Jeff Pearlman? I'm not sure if anybody in here knows the guy, but was he allowed to make these ridiculous claims?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/070222

Sure, Bonds is a jerk. We get it. You wrote a book about it. But how on earth does Pearlman know what Griffey's been up to? He's put on 40 pounds since 1993. He's got the hamstring pulls, the bigger dome - all of these things that happen to normal 35-year old men, by the way. I'm not accusing Griffey. But why are writers still thinking this stuff? More importantly, why is ESPN still publishing it? Pearlman's been on a witch hunt since..... oh, well, since his book was released, The Making of An Anti-Hero (available at Amazon.com).

 

Simmons himself has admitted he can't keep being The Sports Guy for much longer. Nobody wants to read a 40-year-old's thoughts on the latest MTV "reality" show. Each year fewer frat boys know the meaning of "SWEEP THE LEG!!!"