Bill Simmons' new site

Technically, that's incorrect -- there was a dedicated Grantland well on the page.

Now, was Grantland stuff played up highly on the site? No.

 

Bill Simmons is preparing an all-out assault on ESPN over podcast ban

Bill Simmons: I’m glad you mentioned that. You know why I can’t have Brian Windhorst on? Because ESPN won’t let anyone from ESPN come on my podcast, which is fine, but it’s just laying down the ground rules for what is going to unfold over the next few years. It could have been friendly and it’s not going to be friendly.

Joe House: It’s already unfriendly.

BS: It’s going to be more unfriendly.

JH: I’m excited to see how unfriendly it can get.

BS: Just wait until The Ringer hires a public editor for ESPN, that writes for The Ringer. That’s going to get very unfriendly.

 

His site shares the same name as a movie where Johnny Knoxville goes full retard to play sports. Sorry, but shots fired by The Ringer is the height of unintentional comedy. The only time I hear anything about Simmons nowadays is when he's bitching about ESPN, so maybe he should hire a full-time person to lob grenades at them.

 

Sounds like he's going to.

 

What a little brat. Dude is 47. Time to act it.

 

Bill has been an amazingly smart businessman in his career, and by all accounts is a wonderful boss. But if I were working for Ringer, and it is a terrible name, I would definitely suggest to my wonderful boss that like his fantasy team, nobody gives a fuck about his beef with ESPN. It's a real blunder.

 

In Simmons' defense, Dan Patrick has had the same issue with booking ESPN talent for his radio show. He couldn't have Rich Eisen on when Eisen was still with ESPN. Now that Eisen is on NFL Network, he's a regular guest.

 

A good part of Deadspin's rise has been their continual shitting on ESPN. So, I think there's plenty of appetite for that.

 

Deadspin also doesn't target not employ 47-year-olds.

Simmons should be counting his blessings that the checks cleared for 15 years and ESPN made him a wealthy man.

 

I've gone from a regular listener of his podcast to a sporadic listener. Everything is Deflategate, shitting on ESPN, shitting on Manning and turning every conversation about the NBA to the Celtics. Earlier this week he said that Manning lost a playoff game in 2007 because he was afraid to lose to the Pats in the next round, then conceded it might have been subconsciously.

As to ESPN, there are tons of things which could probably be improved about the organization and the inherent conflict of being a right holder and a news organization is not that they have always done well with. And I'm sure that every writer and editor thinks that their material should get greater exposure. But he was suspended for stating as fact (and not opinion) that Roger Goodell a liar when he had no proof and daring his bosses to suspend him about it. Then he was fired for using a juvenile phrase to discuss Goodell when he was told grow up.

He did a great job cultivating talent and building a podcast network at ESPN. If he can find a way to monetize that, great. And if he can hire people from ESPN, more power to him. But he comes across as small when he doesn't move on.

 

HEY! That's MY scoop.

Group

 

Bill had Jay Glazer on a podcast. Wow just wow. Glazer comes across as a name dropping, humble bragging, motor mouth. Bill could not get a word in edgewise. Jay told some good stories but they all sounded exaggerated; obviously I have no way of knowing, but he sounded like a con man.