SJ Book Club: The ESPN Book

What does it say about Simmons? I'd always heard he was one of the more likable people there, but then again, he lives in Calif.

 

I'm about 200 pages in. Slow going for me thus far, though the introduction to Stu Evey fascinated me.

I think I'm about to get to the meaty stuff.

So far, not as compelling as the Saturday Night Live book by these guys. Hopefully, it will pick up some steam, which I think it will.

 

As far as what other said about him, nothing really new. He's a diva but he's incredibly successful. One editor says making changes to a Keith Olbermann piece was easier than making changes on anything Simmons writes. And Chris Berman wouldn't know him if they were sitting next to each other. That said, he's also given a lot of credit for the 30 for 30 series.

But Simmons blasts away to Tirico for the way he treated Kornheiser on MNF. There aren't a lot of people who work at ESPN right now that were willing to take shots at their current colleagues, but Simmons really went after Tirico and got a small dig in at Berman.

 

Yeah, I thought 30 for 30 was Simmons' idea or something like that...

I must admit, I didn't like Simmons until I heard him on Carolla's podcast a couple years ago. Then I went back and listened to Simmons' podcast and I can appreciate where he comes from more than I did before.

 

Jim Gray comes across as the biggest tool in the book by a pretty wide margin. (A friend of mine has known Gray since Gray first got into the business, and absolutely hates his guts.)

I didn't think Simmons came across poorly -- he just came across as a gigantic aggravation if you're in management. He doesn't agree to edits and generally thinks the restrictions he's given are stupid and counter-productive.

Let me put it this way -- three of my favorite ESPN people over the years are Simmons, Kornheiser and Olbermann, and they all come off as enormous pains in the ass for management to deal with. Simmons pretty clearly models himself after Kornheiser, and they have the same disdain for anyone telling them what to do. (By contrast, Olbermann just comes across as a brilliant but miserable person, which isn't exactly a revelation.)

When Simmons interviewed Miller on his podcast he opened the interview with "I really wish I never talked to you. I should have never answered the phone." He particularly regretted teeing off on Tirico's work with Kornheiser -- not because he felt bad about it, but because he figured he'd catch a bunch of shit from management.

 

The only thing I can remember from various glimpses of the ESPYs is that Jennie Finch was FAR better looking than any of the starlets they brought in to dress up the event.

 

I'll sell you mine for 15 bucks...
Was OK. Nice gosspy insight, bashing when it needs to be bashed (I punched the dog when Kornheiser dismissed Albom's troubles at the Final Four), double standards...

 

... annnnnnnd . . . he's out at second, by twenty feet . . .