Simmons first-ever read

Fixed.

 

And it just occurred to me -- he's the real-life Ray Barone we all argue doesn't exist.

 

Good one.

 

I wonder how much of Bill's suckitude can be attributed to ESPN. It's pretty obvious that he feels neutered there and he is likely a victim of his own success. All of the stuff that feels so cliched right now -- the mailbags, snark, pop culture -- was what made him huge and what he did first and did better than anyone else and is what made him popular. So his editors will want that stuff over and over because it is what drives page views.

He needs to go to someplace like Yahoo Sports, where he can do things like bitch about announcers (not being able to do that restricted his voice of the fan viewpoint) and where he can focus solely on his writing. He does have plenty of talent, but I am not sure ESPN is giving him enough room to grow.

 

Coming to theatres Labor Day weekend 2009: We're STILL Not There Yet, starring Bill Simmons!

 

Today's column was predictably Boston-centered, but I liked the part about his father. Touching, indeed.

 

Damn, there was a We're Not There Yet joke dying to be made there. Beat me to it.

 

The dad stuff didn't do much for me. His dad, as he's written many times, is a big fan of the Celtics, Sox, and Patriots. He's 60, I believe. So he's been a fan that, prior to last night, had been around for 16 NBA titles, two World Series titles, and three Super Bowls. I wouldn't have been heartbroken for Sports Dad if he didn't get to celebrate a 17th NBA title. My dad's suffered through two decades of Timberwolves incompetence, four Vikings Super Bowl defeats, the 1998 NFC title game, and he became an NBA fan the last year the Laker were in Minnesota so he was a Lakers fan during the 60s, when they kept losing, and losing, and losing. He did have those twins titles.

But if the Timberwolves win a title within the next four years, I'm not going to think he "deserves it as much as anyone." Jeez, Bill.

 

Fans suffer. It's what they do. My dad was a Washington Senators fan. His team died twice. I am not interested in that angle of sports anymore. I realize many fans are, because everyone likes reading about themselves.
Bill likes writing about himself. That, to me, is unappealing reading. He thinks my writing sucks, too, so no harm no foul.

 

Fixed.

 

My biggest beef — of many — with Simmons is how he trashes the writers who actually go to games and practices and go into the lockerrooms and offices and training rooms to try to shake out one meaningful quote if they can get that and he lords it over everybody that he doesn't have to do that. To me, that even further cheapens what he does because he doesn't bother to get his hands dirty with real work.
When Larry Bird's phone rings and Bob Ryan's number pops up on caller ID, Larry Legend picks up the phone. Simmons ain't got Larry's number to call.

 

I'd have a much bigger problem with that, eagle, if he were pretending to do journalism. But he's not, and rarely tries to (for good reason, because he lacks the skill, as a reporter, and lacks the discipline, as a writer.) ... There are many forms of writing, and interviewing isn't a requisite for all of then.