Bill Simmons - "Objectively speaking" article

[coco]

Don't know how old this article is but here is the link;

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3422313


Welcome back Bill!!!

[BrickJames]

Can't believe they let him print the "rubber match" joke, despite the fact that he "didn't make" the joke...

More of the same from BSG...*snore*

[Who]

Kinda feel like I wasted my time reading that

[ma11l]

He won me back a little with that article, he still has a lot of making up to do for the article before that though.

[Roy Hobbs]

The only part of the article I found interesting was this:

I thought this would make for a cool column: me remembering my 1984 bedroom decor, singing Larry Legend's praises, taking potshots at Kareem and Magic, insulting Lakers fans and hitting Send.

My editors, though, objected. They claim that, of the 144 columns I've written for The Magazine, 314 have involved one of my beloved Boston teams. I thought that number seemed a bit high. We haggled. I threatened to quit. They FedExed me a resignation letter with a yellow "Sign Here" sticky on it. We haggled some more. Eventually, they allowed me to write about the biggest Celtics-Lakers rivalry myths—if I remained "objective."

I think there's probably some truth to this, masked in the jokes.  ESPN must have told Simmons to quit writing so much about the Celts, Pats, and Sox.  It think that's silly, because they hired him as the "Boston Sports Guy", but that's for them to work out.

However, that only excuses Simmons to a certain point, because, you see, he still has continued to write about the Celts.  He's just written about them in a uniformly negative manner.  Does it please ESPN's editors more if he continues to exclusively focus on the Celts, by bashing them instead of praising them?

Now, I can see why ESPN was fed up.  Simmons has been mailing in columns for awhile now.  I don't think it serves either party to write disingenuous articles in the name of a "reverse jinx", however, no matter how many page hits that may get ESPN.com.

(Of course, I'm still not 100% convinced that any of the recent columns were a reverse jinx at all.  That's just lame.  I think Simmons just couldn't take the hate mail, and retracted.)

[Redz]

The roto league comparison is absolutely true!

Myth: L.A. and Boston were reborn this season with two legal megadeals.
Truth: At least the Celts gave up Al Jefferson for KG. How was the Gasol trade legal? If I kill my mailman and no one ever finds out, does that make it legal? Jerry West's old team (Memphis) gift-wrapped its best player for the team that once employed West for 40 years, taking back a pupu platter (Kwame Brown, a third-string guard and two crappy picks). This happened even though the Lakers' season would have been over without a center. Had this trade taken place in a fantasy league, it would have led to three weeks of vicious e-mails, crumbled friendships, guys quitting and maybe even a fistfight. In the NBA, it led to the Lakers being presented the 2008 Western Conference trophy by … yup, a crying Jerry West. The NBA, where chicanery happens.

[Bankshot]

I think Simmons just couldn't take the hate mail, and retracted.)

Exactly what I thought when I read it.

[the_Bird]

Is it just me, or did the "Fall of Bill" seem to begin around the time that ESPN tried to really extend out the "Bill Simmons Brand" beyond his columns?  Seems to me that there's a very strong correlation between the decline of his writing and the launch of "The BS Report."  Maybe this even extends back to that crappy animated thing they'd like to forget about.  Has Simmons become spread too thin?  Has he just used up all his shtick and the decline to mediocrity would have been inevitable?

My wife (who has had a near-hatred for Simmons based on some of his parenting comments) saw him on one of the ESPN talk shows one afternoon and commented about how his voice is perfect for writing on the Internet.  I think they've tried to make "Bill Simmons" into this huge thing across all of ESPN, and not only is it failing, it's hurting his core writing.

I mean, does anyone actually listen to The BS Report?  If ANYONE's going to listen to it, it'd be us - and I never hear anyone talk about it.

[LarBrd33]

For the record... I've liked Bill's writing and his podcasts up until the 3 Celtic-bashing articles.  The anti-Doc, the anti-KG and then the Pro-Laker articles one after another really p---ed me off.   But up until that point even if he had become stale to some... he was still the most entertaining sports writer around.  Even if half of the people on this board seem to think he sucks now... you gotta admit that a good percentage of you still read his stuff.  I look forward to reading his articles.  I can't say I do that with anyone else. 

[nickagneta]

coco, I will be owing you an apology for the rant I am about to get into, so let me get it out of the way now. I'm sorry.

Now for the rant.

I am sick and tired and fed up and bored and aggravated and just plaining freaking urinated off with all the attention that know nothing hack, Bill Simmons, gets on this web site. Can we please have some sort of moratorium of about one Bill Simmons thread a month.

His knowledge of all things Boston oriented has become so warped from his move to Los Angeles that to read his opinions on Boston sports is like asking a 5 year old what they think of quantum mechanics. They make no sense. None!

He goes off on how bad Doc is and then Doc proceeds to coach pretty well and leads his team into the Finals.

He goes off on how Kobe and the Lakers are invincible and then less than two days later is saying how the Celtics should win.

He wanted to erect a statue to Bill Belichick and Spygate comes along and he's ready to hang the guy.

I just can't stand seeing his smug face on the front page of ESPN.com anymore! I want him to just go away!

[the_Bird]

Page2 as a whole has gotten very stale, not just Simmons.  Bill, I'm basically just skimming his articles at this point.  Gregg Easterbrook, who I used to read religiously, has become so self-rightous I can't even open up his columns any more.  Jamelle Hill, is that her name, her stuff is terrible.  Scoop Jackson?  Who writes for Page 2 that's worth reading anymore?

[steve]

He did a podcast about a month ago where he said he thought the C's would get beat by the Lakers in the finals.  He didn't sound too sincere.  I thought at that time that he was reverse jinxing.  I think he really regrets the Pats article and got a lot of hate mail afterwards.  

[goz421]

Where he is really wrong is when he says history says the player with the best individual usually wins.  Tell that to Lebron.  How about those Piston teams?  How about the Spurs.  Though Duncan is great they are far from a one man show.  The only basis he has for this is the Michael Jordan years.  Most of the time I will say in fact the best team prevails.  Look at how Wilt always Wilted in the presence of the great C's teams.

[PP34RG4]

Page2 as a whole has gotten very stale, not just Simmons.  Bill, I'm basically just skimming his articles at this point.  Gregg Easterbrook, who I used to read religiously, has become so self-rightous I can't even open up his columns any more.  Jamelle Hill, is that her name, her stuff is terrible.  Scoop Jackson?  Who writes for Page 2 that's worth reading anymore?

You hit it on the head. Page 2 has become awful. Easterbrook and Jamele Hill may be the only two regular contributors whose stuff has deteriorated as much as Simmons. I gave up ESPN after the Super Bowl - mainly because I hated them after their coverage of the Pats, which I felt help fueled America's hatred for them. I also can't stand how redundant it has become and how it's no longer sports reporting - it's theatre. Who ever can come up with the dumbest phrase or slogan after a highlight clip is usually going to be the anchor on Sportscenter for the next few nights. From the lack of competition, they've let their product greatly deteriorate.

I'm hoping someone else launches a sports channel that can compete with them, but that likely will never be the case.

[evanernest]

Is it just me, or did the "Fall of Bill" seem to begin around the time that ESPN tried to really extend out the "Bill Simmons Brand" beyond his columns?  Seems to me that there's a very strong correlation between the decline of his writing and the launch of "The BS Report."  Maybe this even extends back to that crappy animated thing they'd like to forget about.  Has Simmons become spread too thin?  Has he just used up all his shtick and the decline to mediocrity would have been inevitable?

My wife (who has had a near-hatred for Simmons based on some of his parenting comments) saw him on one of the ESPN talk shows one afternoon and commented about how his voice is perfect for writing on the Internet.  I think they've tried to make "Bill Simmons" into this huge thing across all of ESPN, and not only is it failing, it's hurting his core writing.

I mean, does anyone actually listen to The BS Report?  If ANYONE's going to listen to it, it'd be us - and I never hear anyone talk about it.

I listen to the BS report and it's pretty good, if sometimes not focused on sports.  His interviews with Marv Albert, David Stern, Steve Kerr, Gus Johnson, etc. were all excellent.  He also talked to Seth Meyers about SNL, which was great.  The Adam Carolla stuff was good.  Klosterman is good.

That said, I can't remember the last good, new idea he had for a collumn.  I always love the trade value collumn and stuff.  But yeah, he's gone downhill.  Seems to be going through a phase where he feels like he's predictable, and so he's rebelling, even if he should be sticking to what he knows.