TJ Simers interview

[thebiglead]

...sent this to a few folks on the board whose posts we enjoy reading ... but figured we'd share with the entire class just because he's got such a passionate following on here.

http://thebiglead.com/?p=910

Q: You’ve had your share of run-ins with athletes. Plaschke famously clashed with Raul Mondesi. Which athlete has been the biggest prick to you, and is there one particular incident that sticks out?

That’s a tie between Jim McMahon and Kevin Brown. McMahon blew his nose on me. It began months earlier when I parked a golf cart against the back door of the Charger locker room so he couldn’t run from us out the back door. I went to him each day and he would swear at me and I would ask him to slow down so I could write it all down. Later I asked him a question, he blew his nose on me and said there’s your answer.
As for Brown, after my first column he picked up a metal box and tossed it against the wall. Two years later I went back to him to mark the anniversary of his last great pitch.

[Shaggy]

Good stuff.

[poindexter]

Good stuff in there, much better than I expected.  Simers addresses his time as an editor, 25 years ago.

Aren't there some posters here who have posted about that?

[spnited]

Good stuff in there, much better than I expected.  Simers addresses his time as an editor, 25 years ago.

Aren't there some posters here who have posted about that?

Yes, and the scumbag's comment about both Mark Blaudschun's farewell column and Joe Sullivan's writing are total complete and utter bullshit.

The fat obnoxious piece of shit fails to mention how he ordered Mark to write a column ripping some local HS coach who TJ had a gripe with and then, when it wasn't "strong enough," added a little vitriol of his own to it.
When the coach went ballistic and called  the "crazy owner," who in turn called TJ on the carpet, the fuckwad stabbed Blaudschun repeatedly in the back -- even though scumbag TJ himself had added the worsat parts of the column -- then went back screamed at Mark in full view/earshot of the entire newsroom.

Shortly thereafter, Mark left of his own volition -- the shithead did NOT fire him -- and wrote his FUCK YOU TJ column. The only person TJ fired was the copy editor who was in on the thing and was stupid enough to shoot his mouth off a few days after Mark left. Otherwise, Simers might never have known what was going on.

This story is gospel truth...every last word as related to me by two good friends who were there---Mark Blaudschun and Joe Sullivan.
And TJ Simners was then, is now and forever will be one giant fucking piece of shit.

[Shaggy]

Well, that's the other side of it...

[Gold]

spnited pretty much summed things up.  But I know about the situation, and TJ Simers's comments are pretty much a reflection of the respect he pays to accuracy. I think this revisionist history needs to be set straight.  I've said it before - TJ Simers is a BS artist, plain and simple.

First of all, it wasn't the Morristown Record, it was the Daily Record.  The Record is a much larger and far more respected paper in Bergen County, just across the George Washington Bridge.

Second, TJ said he went there to be a sports writer. Well, duh, the position said sports editor.  And the fact is, the crazy owner gave TJ the travel budget to cover the Yankees during 1978 and TJ seemed to get whatever he wanted from the crazy owner.  It was TJ who was a suckup to the crazy owner.  It wasn't a case of having one sports editor, it was a case of having something like seven sports editors in seven or eight years.  The other ones tried to insulate the staff to varying degrees - TJ was the one who was a suckup and managed to get along with the crazy owner enough so he could cover what he wanted.

The fact is that the "FU TJ" wasn't discovered for at least two weeks - and was discovered because people had talked about it. 

Joe Sullivan is the sports editor at the Boston Globe. Look at the writers the Boston Globe has, look at the LA Times cutting back space and running TJ Simers's crap.  That speaks for itself and the fact that Joe Sullivan is  where he is says it all.  I will say this - Sullivan was pulled off the New York Giants beat so TJ could put one of his buddies there.  Of course, TJ Simers also put his wife on the payroll for a time - maybe she did something with schedules or during the say, but she was never seen in the office when the rest of the staff worked.

I'm not going to say the Daily Record staff was perfect at the time TJ Simers was there. But when he was there, in addition to Joe Sullivan, there was John Harper and Sherry Ross, two other people who have had some success and are much more respected as people than Simers.   

Randy Harvey, why do you have such a liar as a sports columnist?

[Gold]

biglead -

you promoted your blog here and I'm Ok with that. 

Understand this - spnited and I were there when he was on the east coast.  Simers writing was pretty much laughed at - it probably wouldn't be possible but if you go back and read some of his crap, you would pretty much see what it was.

A comment like, "the staff didn't appreciate what I had to go through" might seem reasonable to somebody like you, but if you know the facts of the situation, you know it is self-centered crap which is pretty much what TJ writes.

The point is, we know what we're talking about.  My life? I'm happly married and have two smart, healthy daughters. It didn't work out in sports writing for me - never got the break and probably could have done somethings better, but it doesn't change the fact that I know a lot about sports and am a pretty good writer.  I got a business degree and am doing fine. 

Hey, neither spnited nor I has ever started a thread on TJ Simers.  He never had a column until the NFL left Los Angeles.  Somehow, he has become a genius to a lot of young sports writers. If the LA Times axed his crap, very few readers would care.  I've posted only when I see what a genius he is, and I laugh and try to offer my opinion - which is that TJ Simers is a BS artist.

What you did on your blog sounds like fawning hero worship. Get real.

[Ace]

If spnited says it, I believe it.

Pretty cowardly actions for someone who talks a big game.

[dooley_womack1]

biglead -

you promoted your blog here and I'm Ok with that. 

Understand this - spnited and I were there when he was on the east coast.  Simers writing was pretty much laughed at - it probably wouldn't be possible but if you go back and read some of his crap, you would pretty much see what it was.

A comment like, "the staff didn't appreciate what I had to go through" might seem reasonable to somebody like you, but if you know the facts of the situation, you know it is self-centered crap which is pretty much what TJ writes.

The point is, we know what we're talking about.  My life? I'm happly married and have two smart, healthy daughters. It didn't work out in sports writing for me - never got the break and probably could have done somethings better, but it doesn't change the fact that I know a lot about sports and am a pretty good writer.  I got a business degree and am doing fine. 

Hey, neither spnited nor I has ever started a thread on TJ Simers.  He never had a column until the NFL left Los Angeles.  Somehow, he has become a genius to a lot of young sports writers. If the LA Times axed his crap, very few readers would care.  I've posted only when I see what a genius he is, and I laugh and try to offer my opinion - which is that TJ Simers is a BS artist.

What you did on your blog sounds like fawning hero worship. Get real.

What prompted this post? Did the BLOG cite you?

[jason_whitlock]

wow. this is getting interesting.

[shockey]

spnited and gold speak the truth. t.j. himself has admitted to me, several times, that he indeed was a dick back in his jersey days, too young and inexperienced for the power he wielded.

his lack of honesty in this interview may be a sign he has reverted to the person he was back in jersey. a lot of revisionist history here.

[spnited]

spnited and gold speak the truth. t.j. himself has admitted to me, several times, that he indeed was a dick back in his jersey days, too young and inexperienced for the power he wielded.

his lack of honesty in this interview may be a sign he has reverted to the person he was back in jersey. a lot of revisionist history here.

Not "reverted," shockey, my friend. He's never changed...a bullying bullshitter from the word go.

[shockey]

spnited and gold speak the truth. t.j. himself has admitted to me, several times, that he indeed was a dick back in his jersey days, too young and inexperienced for the power he wielded.

his lack of honesty in this interview may be a sign he has reverted to the person he was back in jersey. a lot of revisionist history here.

Not "reverted," shockey, my friend. He's never changed...a bullying bullshitter from the word go.

i beg to differ, my buddy. when t.j. covered the nfl, he was a pretty good guy. seemed to be fully aware he was a jerk in jersey. now? if people say he's back to being a jerk, i can't quibble. haven't run across t.j. in several years.

[Ben_Hecht]

Great stuff ..  . why so many spend so much time here . . .

[Ace]

Great stuff ..  . why so many spend so much time here . . .

For me it's the dames.

[dooley_womack1]

For me, it's reading the observations of those good enough to work at the Plain Dealer.

[Ace]

For me, it's reading the observations of those good enough to work at the Plain Dealer.

Good enough only in theory, sadly.

[OTD]

I know TJ slightly. I've shared beers with him and had arguments with him and I don't consider him a jerk at all. I didn't know him back in Jersey, but I know there's lots of shit I did when I was 25 that I wish I hadn't.

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I know TJ slightly. I've shared beers with him and had arguments with him and I don't consider him a jerk at all.

Jerk, yes. Satan, no.

A friend's wife sometimes says, "We're all assholes sometimes and today's your day."

[Mizzougrad96]

You mean someone was a dick during their younger days in this business? Stunning...

I've never met the guy, but I have close friends who know him well and don't speak too fondly of the guy...

He's still one of the most interesting people in this profession. Parking a golf cart to prevent an athlete from leaving the locker room... Legendary...

The Big Lead is a great site...

[Ace]

You mean someone was a dick during their younger days in this business? Stunning...

I've never met the guy, but I have close friends who know him well and don't speak too fondly of the guy...

He's still one of the most interesting people in this profession. Parking a golf cart to prevent an athlete from leaving the locker room... Legendary...

The Big Lead is a great site...

Being a dick is one thing.

Hanging two co-workers out to dry for something you did goes a bit beyond dickishness in my book and is hard to blow off as a "youthful indiscretion."

[thebiglead]

biglead -
you promoted your blog here and I'm Ok with that. 
Understand this - spnited and I were there when he was on the east coast.  Simers writing was pretty much laughed at - it probably wouldn't be possible but if you go back and read some of his crap, you would pretty much see what it was.
A comment like, "the staff didn't appreciate what I had to go through" might seem reasonable to somebody like you, but if you know the facts of the situation, you know it is self-centered crap which is pretty much what TJ writes.
The point is, we know what we're talking about.  My life? I'm happly married and have two smart, healthy daughters. It didn't work out in sports writing for me - never got the break and probably could have done somethings better, but it doesn't change the fact that I know a lot about sports and am a pretty good writer.  I got a business degree and am doing fine. 
Hey, neither spnited nor I has ever started a thread on TJ Simers.  He never had a column until the NFL left Los Angeles.  Somehow, he has become a genius to a lot of young sports writers. If the LA Times axed his crap, very few readers would care.  I've posted only when I see what a genius he is, and I laugh and try to offer my opinion - which is that TJ Simers is a BS artist.
What you did on your blog sounds like fawning hero worship. Get real.

Sounds like hero worship? Huh? We asked questions we thought were interesting ... he answered.

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Sounds like hero worship? Huh? We asked questions we thought were interesting ... he answered.

Q: Readers love the grocery store bagger ...

How do you know? Has there been a market survey on this? Anyway, way to lead off a hard-hitting interview.

Q: You ruled on Around the Horn ...

Come on, Biglead! It may not have been the biggest blowjob I've read, but you certainly at least unzipped the guy.

[Ace]

I gotta agree with Frank. Hey, biglead, if you like the guy admit it. Plenty of others have.

[thebiglead]

If you want to call those quotes hero worship, but all means ...

We didn't think there was any doubt he's one of the few must-reads in the country ... and we thought the consensus was that he was great on around the horn, didn't even know it was up for debate ...