Bill Simmons - Funny / Knowledgeable or Not Funny / Other?

[nba is the worst]

I really enjoy Bill Simmons - and think his consistently funny, sarcastic, self-deprecating style is in a class by itself in the world of sports-related entertainment.

(Today's offering is a perfect example - made me laugh multiple times, and was right on about the week 1 NFL stuff, PARTICULARLY the Jets)...
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmonsnfl2010/100917

But I've seen a lot of Celtics fans, here and elsewhere, who can't stand him.

Please vote, and then please tell us why you feel the way you do!

Here's a Simmons clip I found relevant to my own experience regarding LeBron in game 5:

"Hey, Calvin Johnson, why didn't you take the blame for stupidly banging the football on the ground to lose what should have been a game-winning catch against the Bears? Every other good receiver knows to cradle the ball and roll over to protect it; you banged it off the ground like you were trying to smash a cell phone. It's your fault the refs got involved in the first place.

Is the touchdown possession rule stupid? Of course. It gets more complex every year. I watch football for 12 hours a day, 17 weeks a year, and have no idea what the rule actually is at this point. If it looks like a catch, why can't it be a catch? I liked this solution from Jason in Delaware: "My wife, who doesn't watch football at all, asked during the Johnson replay, 'Why in the world wasn't that a catch?' If a female non-football fan can see something should or should not be, then her ruling prevails, no matter what ridiculousness the rulebook says. We need a Wife/Girlfriend Rule implemented."

I tested out Jason's idea with the Sports Gal. Her take on Johnson's catch: "So what? He caught it. Did I miss something?" When I told her it was ruled incomplete, she made me rewind it, watched it again, then said, "That's dumb, he caught it" and walked away. The point is, I shouldn't have to call my wife over -- someone who knows NOTHING about sports -- to confirm the idiocy of a football ruling.

"The same thing happened while watching game 5 of the Cavs series last season - my gf, who only watches the NBA to avoid isolation in the playoffs, asked me what LeBron "was doing standing around while the rest of the team was going 4 on 5"?
I couldn't give her a reason, but if it was clear to her - well, that means it was OBVIOUS...

Just like the Lions getting screwed by that ridiculous call, and then the head offficials and media claiming the call was correct by rule...

[Donoghus]

I like him.  I've been reading him since the Digital City Boston days.

Though, I can guarantee we're in the minority.  Lot of people on this blog hate him.   People love to go after him on here.

[Kwhit10]

Most of his writing entertains me.  So I don't mind him.  Some times he can be over board with the pop culture references and whatever he writes in parenthesis. 

But I must say I love the podcasts with Chuck Klostermann, that guy always has a view on things that I don't necessarily think of and I think he's just an interesting person.

[indeedproceed]

Bill Simmons was the fans' voice. Now he's as much schtick as he is substance. He's also somehow tried to play himself off as a celebrity in a few instances, and since he's supposed to be 'everyman', he really comes off as a jerk there.

That said my hate for him now is less than it is during the playoffs, when he picks against the C's. I love the Big Book On Basketball.

[RIPRED]

I am a huge fan Simmons' work. By far the best sports journalist out there right now.

[Donoghus]

Bill Simmons was the fans' voice. Now he's as much schtick as he is substance. He's also somehow tried to play himself off as a celebrity in a few instances, and since he's supposed to be 'everyman', he really comes off as a jerk there.

That said my hate for him now is less than it is during the playoffs, when he picks against the C's. I love the Big Book On Basketball.

The "Book of Basketball" was a great read.  I couldn't put it down.

[incoherent]

He is a sell out.

He used his and his fathers fandom of the Celtics to get to the top then once he was there he spends all his time talking about the greatness of the Lakers and picking against us in he first round of the playoffs.

Sell out.

His article was titled something so absurd like "I know the celtics will lose to Miami".

I mean... How do you even title an article like that? **** Bill Simmons.

[Roy H.]

I used to read him a lot, but I don't any more.

He's knowledgeable, but not as knowledgeable as he thinks he is.  The things that I like least about him are that 1) his writing has become stale / recycled; 2) he presents himself as a Boston "superfan", despite being very down on the team and most of its moves; and 3) he's got a huge ego and can't stand being disagreed with in "real life".

He's still occasionally funny, but I rarely find him insightful anymore.  If he was a good writer, I could overcome the fact that I find him to be personally distasteful.  Since he's lost much of his writer's voice, however, I don't bother anymore.

[Witch-King]

He is a sell out.

He used his and his fathers fandom of the Celtics to get to the top then once he was there he spends all his time talking about the greatness of the Lakers and picking against us in he first round of the playoffs.

Sell out.

His article was titled something so absurd like "I know the celtics will lose to Miami".

I mean... How do you even title an article like that? **** Bill Simmons.

I remember being upset after hearing his prediction that the Heat would beat us in the first-round. Maybe he lost faith in the team after watching the second-half of our season, where we only won 50% of our games...either way, we still took care of the Heat in 5 games, and Kevin Garnett was suspended (unfairly) in game 2 so I try not to take what he says too seriously these days...

[Boris Badenov]

To employ one of his schticks against him:

"Reading Simmons now is a lot like watching Jack Nicholson act during the last twenty years. There are occasional good moments, but for the most part you've seen them before, and every once in a while you wonder whether he's intentionally plagiarizing his younger, better self, or whether he's just incapable of expanding his repertoire. You also used to think he'd be a blast to hang out with, but now you think that it would be too much 'celebrity experience' and 'ego' as opposed to fun."

"Oh, and they both go to WAY too many games at Staples to merit a positive impression from Celtics fans."

[slam]

Love his stuff.  One of my favorite writers, if not #1

[nba is the worst]

I used to read him a lot, but I don't any more.

He's knowledgeable, but not as knowledgeable as he thinks he is.  The things that I like least about him are that 1) his writing has become stale / recycled; 2) he presents himself as a Boston "superfan", despite being very down on the team and most of its moves; and 3) he's got a huge ego and can't stand being disagreed with in "real life".

He's still occasionally funny, but I rarely find him insightful anymore.  If he was a good writer, I could overcome the fact that I find him to be personally distasteful.  Since he's lost much of his writer's voice, however, I don't bother anymore.

IMO, this is an example of something a lot of bloggers are, which is being TOO SERIOUS, and denying themselves light-hearted pleasures which are often readily available just by blowing off/not making judgements about (in this case, Simmons') ego, writing ability, etc.

I hope you read the link anyway - this week's column was pretty darned funny, and insightful as well IMO

[Drucci]

I was a big fan of Simmons when I first discovered his columns. Since then, and especially since his consistent "I pretend to be a Celtics fan but I despise everything about them" speech (and the way he said that no Celtic fan who had followed the team last season could have predicted that they would go this far in the playoffs... uh, yes, a lot of people believed they could do that), I see him more as an entertainer than a good reporter/analyst.

I still read his columns - NBA related only so I can't judge him on other sports - because I love his writing style and his humor (he is funny most of the time), and his podcasts are often interesting (depending on who he invites of course).

And his Book of Basketball is really awesome. Sure, it's biased but he explains his points of view with a lot of arguments, which are credible. It's really a great book if you love basketball and whether you like Simmons or not.

[dpaps]

I used to read him a lot, but I don't any more.

He's knowledgeable, but not as knowledgeable as he thinks he is.  The things that I like least about him are that 1) his writing has become stale / recycled; 2) he presents himself as a Boston "superfan", despite being very down on the team and most of its moves; and 3) he's got a huge ego and can't stand being disagreed with in "real life".

He's still occasionally funny, but I rarely find him insightful anymore.  If he was a good writer, I could overcome the fact that I find him to be personally distasteful.  Since he's lost much of his writer's voice, however, I don't bother anymore.

This pretty much sums up my feelings on Simmons. I used to love reading him. Now I still read his columns sometimes, but don't like him or his opinions nearly as much. I actually thought his books were pretty terrible, incredibly boring for topics with so much interest, zzzzzzz.

[guava_wrench]

I voted 'or not' because I've stopped reading him. I think he writes many funny things, but I just lost my interest. I probably lost interest because he says so many things I consider poor reasoning.