Simmons vs. Rivers

[Versatile]

Dan Shaughnessy does not have credibility.

 

[GidalKaiser]

Ryan and Shaughnessy have credibility. Simmons has none. Did you follow the NBA studio show. Jalen Rose and
Magic barely acknowledged Simmons existence.

Could you explain why they have credibility and Simmons has none? If Simmons didn't, would ESPN have given him a platform? All three of them do the same thing: watch basketball (or sports) and get paid to report and/or comment on it. Yes that is a sweeping generality, but that's what I'm going with until it's explained further.

 

[Riptide]

Doc may still be holding it against Simmons that Bill called for his head back in 05-06.

Simmons might still have fanboi hate for Rivers.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

Bob Ryan is in the basketball Hall of Fame (Or got the award if that doesn't technically put him in).

Maybe you can make a case about Shaughnessy but Simmons has no where near the credibility of Bob Ryan on basketball.

 

[Versatile]

Bill Simmons will get that same award in due time.

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

Very few have Bob Ryan's credibility in the NBA, but Simmons knows the league and has plenty of sources inside the Celtics, which Doc alluded to. I'm sure Wilbon, who is close to Doc, will try to mediate at some point.

 

[Songbird]

Doc showed Bill up pretty big by calling him an idiot in front of the world.

Bill won't let go of that for awhile. Poor Bill.

 

[93Devil]

Mel Kiper was called some nasty things, too, about 10-12 years ago.

 

[Boom_70]

Simmons should stick to writing. He has no presence whatsoever on TV. ESPN did him no favors
though sticking him with Magic and Rose. Simmons seemed intimidated by them.

 

[JC]

Simmons should stick to writing. He has no presence whatsoever on TV. ESPN did him no favors
though sticking him with Magic and Rose. Simmons seemed intimidated by them.

Funny how for one of worst drafts in a long time it was the second highest rated draft ever.

 

[tmr]

The ombudsman of journalism weighs in: https://twitter.com/MariottiJ/status/351149450539974658

Simmons is overstepping boundaries of professionalism. He's the one who should be careful. http://

 

[GidalKaiser]

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[Versatile]

Should we believe that's the real Jay Mariotti?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Not that I'm that surprised. He's never had hedge and pull punches because he's never been a real beat writer.

Here we go again with the "you're not a beat writer, you shouldn't talk about it." Interesting to me is how people tend to excoriate Simmons for starting as/being a fanboi but most of the older journalists, wherever they are, are given a pass or their word is passed off as knowledge when spouting out opinions or comments. If Bob Ryan or Dan Shaughnessy wrote Doc quit, they'd be praised for telling the truth. Why is that?

Ryan and Shaughnessy have credibility. Simmons has none. Did you follow the NBA studio show. Jalen Rose and
Magic barely acknowledged Simmons existence.

Magic and Simmons are extremely close friends.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Didn't Rivers go from Simmons' favorite team to his second favorite team? I seem to remember him being a Clippers season ticket holder.

 

[JackReacher]

He is, yes. Or was until recently anyway. And apparently, they kissed and made up.

 

[heyabbott]

Very few have Bob Ryan's credibility in the NBA, but Simmons knows the league and has plenty of sources inside the Celtics, which Doc alluded to. I'm sure Wilbon, who is close to Doc, will try to mediate at some point.

Ryan appears about once a week on Kornheiser's radio show. IIRC he said Doc quit on the Celtics or some variation. He wasn't hyperventilating about, but said it matter-of-factly. He did point out that when Doc signed his extension he was well aware of the age and contract status of the players. He also said that Ainge wasn't going to make the same mistake the Celtics made when they let Bird, McHale and Parrish retire in consecutive years and getting nothing for it.

I've been reading and watching Wilbon since he began at the Washington Post. He was their angry young black sports columnist. Not as knee jerk and predictable as Rhoden and not as angry and thoughtful as Ralph Wiley. He was the next generation and his windmills weren't as strikingly obscene.

He's always been a jock sniffer, then a jock licker and when he wrote for Barkley and Jordan he lost his facade of objectivity and became a jock fluffer. Thank goodness PTI didn't become point/counterpoint along racial lines or even player-management lines, but you can usually depend on Wilbon to support a player (or ex-player) or at least minimize or excuse certain behaviors.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Wilbon is a jock sniffer, but at least during his columnist days, was one of the hardest-working big time columnists out there...

I think one of the reasons why Simmons connects so well with readers is because he doesn't hide his obvious biases. He is a Boston fan. He worships his Celtics.

I thought one of the most enjoyable things about watching the draft was seeing Simmons react to the Celtics moves. I found it refreshing. Maybe that's just me.

 

[SoCalScribe]

I miss Wiley. One of a kind.

 

[Pancamo]

The problem with Simmons on tv is his voice doesn't project.