Bill Simmons, trending.

Simmons' record on diversity is certainly worth criticizing. But as others have stated on this thread, he more or less revolutionized a ton of things about sports writing and saw the trends in the industry before they occurred. In many ways, he feels similar to Reilly -- an icon who could be headed for a surprising decline.

 

Though both made a hell of a lot of money to ride off in the sunset with.

 

For people bitching about this comment....as someone who went to a whatever state school. There was a point in my career where I felt like I’d get beaten out by a Syracuse kid for a fry cook shift at McDonald’s. “You have a great resume, BUT...”

Whether you’re working for The Athletic or the Punksawtwaney Post is not the point. The point is that any job big or small in this industry, if you’re a Mizzou/Northwestern/Syracuse kid, no matter your actual chops, your resume goes to the top of the pile. Every time. Every fn time. Whether you are Mike Wallace or Bozo the Clown.

 

or Bozo the Pope or Bozo the District Attorney.
(Classic Seinfeld joke)

 

The quip that Simmons seems to believe he invented the sports documentary is dead-on.

 

I thought about the Reilly comparison also but there’s a difference. Reilly took a lot of money to join ESPN but, when he got there, his content was awful. He never became a broadcaster.

Simmons, at least, is still putting out good content. Not writing anymore but good pods.

 

The short-sighted manager likes hiring from these brand schools. Plug a kid in from Mizzou/NW/Cuse and, on day one, you’ll get a story with very little hand-holding.

KOMU has done all the entry-level managing for you.

However, it also means that they’ll leave in two years for a larger market. You just hope you get their best work before they head out.

 

I don't know if that was much of a takedown.

I don’t know Bill well; I respect a good number of people who think he’s tremendous. We are all mixed bags. But I am certain that the secret sauce of his ascendance in the media world was not his early pivot to podcasting, his idea to make sports documentaries, or his keen eye for talent. Instead, his key skill has been gaining leverage over the higher-ups. Many have tried to extract millions and carte blanche decision-making power from ESPN honchos. Bill was just better at it, at least for a while. ​

There's the nut ... Bill was just better at it.

Has nothing fucking to do with only child bullshit.

Good read otherwise.

 

On the only child stuff.

I’m one with divorced and abusive parent. My entire social interaction as a child was trial and error. That made me an outcast until I was about 17.

Even now, 30 years later, I don’t trust colleagues at work. I tend to do too much myself.

In other words, a control freak. Much like what Simmons is perceived as. Only he’s more successful than a guy sweating out KBO bets.

 

That could be a middle child or the 4th of 5 children. It's pseudo psychology.

He's driven to dominate the world; not because he's an only child.

 

ex, there are so many life lessons in Basterds including this scene that I think applies to the whole "control freak" thing. I'm a control freak but am more than willing to delegate ... I LOVE to delegate ... but only if I can trust the person I'm delegating too, much like Gen. Fenech here delegating this plan to Lt. Hickox with Churchill on the other side of the room sucking down a stogie. But again, me being a control freak has nothing to do with which number child I am, in this case I'm the middle child. His column was good minus the dime store psychology.

 

a little of both

Is Only-Child Syndrome Real?


There are, however, indications only children are less willing to come to terms with others.

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As it turns out, only children seem to be better lateral thinkers, meaning they could solve problems more creatively, especially in the category of flexible thinking.

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But that is not all. MRI tests revealed differences in brain structure. In the supramarginal gyrus, a cortical area associated with creativity and imagination, researchers found more gray matter (linked to intelligence) among only children. Researchers, however, discovered fewer gray cells in the frontal brain, more precisely in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), of only children than those with siblings. This deficit was accompanied by lower tolerance.