Simmons vs. Pierce?

Where to begin?

1. As Double Down said, the review you're quoting is old. Very old.
2. Simmons' hard-cover book contained Pierce's name.
3. Simmons' new version does not.
4. Someone alerted Pierce to this fact and Pierce responded with the quote I gave above.
5. Simmons' then called Pierce a jilted lover and said Pierce used to constantly e-mail him until Simmons told him to stop.
6. Pierce responded to this by calling Simmons "mendacious," which is about the least-offensive way I can think of to call someone a lying sack of shit.
7. At no point would I consider any of Pierce's responses to be from someone who was "set off."
8. Fin.

 

Yeah, but the paperback is just coming out NOW! Promote! Make a headline! Pick a bogus fight! Don't just sit there, tweet something!!

 

Deadspin asked Pierce for a comment on being cut from the book. He gave them one.

 

I like much of Simmons' writing. And he deserves a ton of credit for his work with the 30 for 30 series on ESPN. Many of his podcasts are informative and entertaining.

But, way, way too often he comes off like Michael Jordan in his Hall of Fame speech.

Simmons on Isiah, circa 2006. Could take his own advice.

 

It's no great shock that two guys from the same city with completely different styles - one self-consciously low-brow and one self-consciously high-brow and high-falutin' - would clash.

 

You're right. It's not the responses I've had a problem with. It was the review itself, which quite obviously I hadn't read until today (and I admit I thought it was odd timing for a book review, you know, more than a year after it was published ...

Thought the review was vicious and absurd. It was an over-the-top attack on a writer (not the work, mind you) he doesn't care for. Yay. Good for you, Charlie.
Anyway. Old news. Apologize for the 'setting off' portion of the thread. My mistake.

 

I really don't know how to reply to this. I'm a massive fan of Pierce, and have met him a time or two. I LOVED Simmons more than should be legally allowed when he was Boston Sports Guy, and still enjoy him whenever I stumble across his stuff. Neither of them are must-reads for me, though I enjoy Pierce's blog very much.

This is pretty much exactly how I would have expected both of them to respond. Simmons loves feeling put-upon and making himself out to be the victim. Pierce can't help but respond when it comes to low-hanging fruit, especially when it directly involves him.

It's pretty much, as I said, as I expected.

 

I'd have to read Bill's book first, which isn't very likely to happen.

 

I bought and read Simmons' book and I mostly agree with Pierce's thoughts. There is a good, possibly great book somewhere in there. It's just a damned shame either Simmons didn't have an editor capable of helping him flesh it out, or Simmons was unwilling to listen to that editor.

It was an entertaining and quick read despite its size. But I probably won't ever read it again, which is the biggest disappointment. It could have been a definitive book in the genre and fell short.

 

And if Simmon was going after everyone who gave him an occasionally harsh critique, he should have also gone after the New York Magazine gang.

http://nymag.com/arts/books/bookclub/book-of-basketball/

Like Pierce, there was a lot they liked about the book. Like Pierce, there were some things they didn't like. Doesn't mean they're jealous of Simmons' success.

 

I say it every time the board engages in Pierce fawning, still pretty often. I've gone into the each piece of his that I've read looking for the brilliance that many of you whose opinion I respect tell me is there and each one left me empty - like a guy trying to be brilliant. I know whose writing I enjoy more, even though they're basically not even doing the same thing. I prefer excellent popcorn to an overdone steak.

 

It's a very accurate criticism, but Pierce is not an innocent in this fight.

My problem with Pierce here is you would think he would be above getting involved in something like this.

His criticism of the LeBron thing strikes me as pretty bad. How many of us would email another writer to complain about something they wrote? It's a very arrogant move.