Simmons defends McGwire, rips Ann Killion

What it comes down to, always, is "He has an audience." OK, he has an audience.
Otherwise, he's in print, like everyone else, no matter how long he writes, or the banalities with which he studs his work.
"Regular guy"?
Jesus wept.

 

My point about his audience is that it's not us. He's not writing for other sports journalists, and I'm going to assume a lot of people here are over 40 so they aren't his audience either. He's writing for guys from teenagers to probably their 30s and that's why his style is different than most newspaper (see how I changed it from print) columnists.

The thing is I read Simmons but I'm not even trying to defend him, I just think a lot of the criticism is off-base. There is plenty you can criticize the guy for but I think comparing his shortcomings to newspaper columnists is irrelevant because he's doing something totally different from them.

Oh, and he has an audience.

 

His movie knowledge begins in 1984.
His musical knowledge begins with U2 and ends somewhere short of grunge.
He's a happenin' dude, all right.

 

Very interesting post, DD.

I hadn't quite looked at it that way. Actually gives me something to think about.

 

If that seems strange to you, I'm guessing you don't have kids.

 

You know exactly dick about me. Next.

 

OK then who reads him? You can bash him for writing about that shit, that's fine, but don't act like people don't like reading it because clearly that's not the case.

 

we know enough about you.

 

Nor do I care to know anything about you. But I do know that what you said about Ann Killion was one of the most ignorant things I've read on this board.

 

Yes, and Mitch Albom is a moral philosopher.

 

what strikes me about simmons is how bitter and antagonistic he has become toward the traditional print media - not too long ago he wrote about how "access" was unnecessary and that a bkb team could be covered from 3,000 miles away.

why did he need killion for a straw to make his argument? he didn't. the real point is not mcgwire, but unleashing another broadside against traditional media.

i suspect simmons is becoming insecure about his whole "outsider" shtick - pontificating from his living room couch - and the more insecure he becomes the more vitriolic he will be toward real reporters, like killion.

 

broadway joe, do you care to explain how that was anything other than a simple declarative statement (one which happens to be true, also)? I understand people here see what they want to see, but there was nothing vicious there. So lighten up, Francis. You too, pube.