Bill Simmons out at ESPN?

[Ben_Hecht]

Reader feedback? Bob Greene made it a career, in the late going, before he got slapped upside the haid.

 

[fmrsped]

Today's column was running two reader e-mails written in, yes, Simmons' style. It's a popular niche, which isn't really a contradiction. The folks who care do, and others either don't care or think it's back-pattingly shallow.

I'll preface this by saying I can see both sides of the Simmons argument. I still enjoy reading him, though.

But that "column" to which you are referring is a part of his basketball blog, not a regular column. So to chastise him over running two reader responses in that space is a little ridiculous.

 

[murphy37]

The Bill Simmons bashing comes across as really pathetic. It sounds like a bunch of old, bitter sportswriters complaining about a guy that's much more popular than they are.

The guy writes columns that a lot of people really enjoy. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. So what if he uses 80s pop culture references and talks about his college friends? It hasn't affected his popularity.

You're all entitled to your opinions, but it's really simple. Nobody's forcing you to read his columns, and they are free. So if you don't like it, well then good for you. But ridiculing the legions of people that do like his columns is just jealousy and pettiness. Which, coming from some of the bitter people here, is not surprising.

Ever hear of American Idol? Millions of fans, millions more tuning in each and every week. The show is incredibly popular, right?

But the show is still empty dreck posing as real TV and no amount of fans will turn crap into gold.

So what?

Every single thing on TV is "empty dreck" to somebody - including sports. I don't watch American Idol, but I also don't think the people that do are stupid.

I do read Bill Simmons, and I thoroughly enjoy reading his work. Of course he's not a real journalist, but I don't remember him saying otherwise. I'm not trying to nominate him for a Pulitzer Prize, and I'm not saying he's the greatest writer in the world. I just find what he writes entertaining. That's all.

Of course popularity doesn't equal quality, and that wasn't my point. All I was saying was that it's become awfully trendy for people to bash things that are popular, and since Bill Simmons is one of the most popular writers around, it's in vogue to trash him. Criticisms of him are, of course, valid, but what difference does it make? If you don't like him, great, but it seems that some people just dislike him because it's the cool thing to do. And that's what's pathetic.

 

[alleyallen]

The Bill Simmons bashing comes across as really pathetic. It sounds like a bunch of old, bitter sportswriters complaining about a guy that's much more popular than they are.

The guy writes columns that a lot of people really enjoy. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. So what if he uses 80s pop culture references and talks about his college friends? It hasn't affected his popularity.

You're all entitled to your opinions, but it's really simple. Nobody's forcing you to read his columns, and they are free. So if you don't like it, well then good for you. But ridiculing the legions of people that do like his columns is just jealousy and pettiness. Which, coming from some of the bitter people here, is not surprising.

Ever hear of American Idol? Millions of fans, millions more tuning in each and every week. The show is incredibly popular, right?

But the show is still empty dreck posing as real TV and no amount of fans will turn crap into gold.

So what?

Every single thing on TV is "empty dreck" to somebody - including sports. I don't watch American Idol, but I also don't think the people that do are stupid.

Never claimed people who like American Idol are stupid. Nor did I claim the same for Bill Simmons. Like I said earlier, I liked Simmons at one point, but now, not at all. Still, the dreck analogy stands.

 

[murphy37]

Ever hear of American Idol? Millions of fans, millions more tuning in each and every week. The show is incredibly popular, right?

But the show is still empty dreck posing as real TV and no amount of fans will turn crap into gold.

So what?

Every single thing on TV is "empty dreck" to somebody - including sports. I don't watch American Idol, but I also don't think the people that do are stupid.

Never claimed people who like American Idol are stupid. Nor did I claim the same for Bill Simmons. Like I said earlier, I liked Simmons at one point, but now, not at all. Still, the dreck analogy stands.

American Idol isn't "dreck" to everyone. To some people it's the best show on TV. So while your analogy stands from your point of view, it doesn't apply to everyone.

 

[alleyallen]

Ever hear of American Idol? Millions of fans, millions more tuning in each and every week. The show is incredibly popular, right?

But the show is still empty dreck posing as real TV and no amount of fans will turn crap into gold.

So what?

Every single thing on TV is "empty dreck" to somebody - including sports. I don't watch American Idol, but I also don't think the people that do are stupid.

Never claimed people who like American Idol are stupid. Nor did I claim the same for Bill Simmons. Like I said earlier, I liked Simmons at one point, but now, not at all. Still, the dreck analogy stands.

American Idol isn't "dreck" to everyone. To some people it's the best show on TV. So while your analogy stands from your point of view, it doesn't apply to everyone.

You're going to find that if you spend a lot of time criticizing every single person for their opinion, you'll never get much done here. ;D

And I still call Idol dreck regardless of who likes it. I just don't go on the Idol threads and say it because there's no point in it. I don't have to watch it, therefore I don't. But I do smirk and roll my eyes when someone asks me if I do watch it.

Also, I would fully expect someone to do the same when I tell them I love movies like Cannonball Run, Strange Brew and Pirate Movie. They're all drek, too.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

... Cannonball Run, Strange Brew ... They're all drek, too.

You take that back. TAKE IT BACK RIGHT NOW!!!

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Pirate Movie?
Jesus wept.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Prove the popularity

 

[murphy37]

Prove that he's not popular.

(See, I can play that game too...)


And AlleyAllen, anyone who says Cannonball Run is dreck is completely out of their mind. I think we can all agree on that, right?

(By the way, I watch pro wrestling, so I can't really call what ANYONE watches dreck.)

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

I've talked with young people about Simmons. They think he's a toolshed.

 

[murphy37]

Well, that settles it then.