Simmons on Maravich. Yes, it's good.

I don't know what I call it -- I call it not as good as it used to be, that's for sure -- but I do know that I won't be turning to Simmons any time soon for what I know as journalism, regardless of who he writes for.

Simmons is NOT (repeat, NOT) a sports journalist. He never has been, never will be. I'm ok with that -- what he does write is occasionally worth my time to read. Occasionally, it's not.

But I won't be citing him as an "example of sports journalism," simply because I know that's not what he does. If you think he does -- or think he should -- then, yes, you'll be sorely disappointed by his writing ... and his very noticeable lack of reporting, which, in my opinion, is the essence of a good sports journalist. That's not Simmons.

Simmons IS, in my opinion, good at what he does. But he doesn't do what Whitlock or Plaschke or Bob Ryan or any good sports journalist does. He does something different. He fills a niche, that's all -- and I'm ok with that, too. Let Bob Ryan be Bob Ryan.

 

Oh, I see. He's lost the hop off his 53 mph heater.

 

These shoes are hot.

 

Do the math- for most of Marivich era Simmons was under 6 . How much do you remember from age 6 .

 

I remember Chrissy and Martina from when I was that age (my mom was a HUGE fan), and I remember voting for my dad in the mock election my kindergarten class had during the 1980 election when I was 5.

If something's really exciting or scary (I remember a bizarre nightmare I had about that age), a person will remember it.

 

Simmons specifically referred to the entire decade of the 1970s, which means he could watch Maravich play from when he was about 6 until he was 11 (Maravich played until 1980). I was never blessed to go to any pro events until I was 9 years old. But if I had been blessed like Simmons, I would definitely remember some specific players.

 

When you held that mock election, I was a little over seven months old. YOU'RE OLD!

 

The earliest memories I have are from age 3, although they're not as clear strictly on their own as they are from having heard the stories over and over and over again, throughout my life.

I have very vivid memories from age 5, and even more from age 6, neither of which needed enhancing from the retelling of stories. Those are my own. For instance, I went to Cooperstown for the first time at age 6 -- those memories are as sharp now as they were then.

 

Shaq was a must-watch, you never knew when he'd tried to go from one end of the floor to the other like a point guard. The other team I always dropped everything for was Loyola Marymount - the one with Kimble and Gathers. They were unbelievable.

 

jared, you're missing the point. You're missing the point in the zeal to be combative, I believe, but you're missing the point.

Simmons does occasionally give viewpoints of value -- buck probably thinks he has more such moments than I do, but anyway. The mistake is in thinking that he ever could be a newspaper's columnist.

What he does will never resemble, say, his main antagonist, Mr. Whitlock. Jason writes within the parameters of accepted mass-market journalism. Simmons does not. He's more of a ... well, a blogger.

 

Ok lets assume that you could start remembering things at age 6 - that would have made Simmons age 6 in 1975. He would have missed half the decade that he was refring to in the story.