Death From Above Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I knowing going after Bill SImmons is like kicking a dead horse at this point, but his latest mailbag about whether to go to the Spurs-Clips game 7 or the Manny-Floyd jr fight is the ultimate in Rich people problems. . . . I legit thought he was going to end the article by saying he and (insert celebrity friend here) decided to split a private jet so that they could do both, and then make a Wire reference, and then talk about how deep down he is still just the same dude that was making $300 a week writing for AOL. This is eerily close to the real life twitter feed of poker legend and noted egomaniac Phil Hellmuth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I always thought Hellmuth was just being a heel or reveling in playing one. I doubt Simmons is self-aware enough, given his notorious thin skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Simmons isn't remotely self-aware. He still thinks himself to be the voice and arbiter of the common fan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I always thought Hellmuth was just being a heel or reveling in playing one.He is. Phil is apparently a super, super nice guy - to his friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Is it wrong that as a New Englander and wrestling fan, I still have a soft spot for Simmons? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I always thought Hellmuth was just being a heel or reveling in playing one.He is. Phil is apparently a super, super nice guy - to his friends. He's a nice guy yes but his obsession with proving to people he is rich and that he knows other rich people is quite real. If totally harmless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Is it wrong that as a New Englander and wrestling fan, I still have a soft spot for Simmons? Yes. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Word around the campfire is that Simmons and ESPN ended negotiations and are parting ways. EDIT: New York Times is confirming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Word around the campfire is that Simmons and ESPN ended negotiations and are parting ways. I don't know what they do with Grantland without him, but I actually think this would be good for Simmons. He's to the point where he doesn't need ESPN, and his style of writing/podcasting would probably be better without the Disney restrictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I can't imagine them just closing it outright unless Simmons has some kind of licensing deal with the name. Maybe roll it in together with Whitlock's new site with someone besides Whitlock as EIC. I'm curious to see who follows him out the door. I think Lowe will go wherever he does, although I wouldn't be surprised if Turner made a strong play for him. I could easily see Rembert heading to Salon, Slate, or somewhere similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I can't imagine them just closing it outright unless Simmons has some kind of licensing deal with the name. Maybe roll it in together with Whitlock's new site with someone besides Whitlock as EIC. I'm curious to see who follows him out the door. I think Lowe will go wherever he does, although I wouldn't be surprised if Turner made a strong play for him. I could easily see Rembert heading to Salon, Slate, or somewhere similar. Yeah, the biggest impact I think this is going to have is that for all his faults, Simmons pushes talent into the light. He is self serving and a bit of a blowhard, but he hired a shitload of talented people and then sang their praises to everyone who would listen. Who knows how this impacts those people, and how can we be sure that the next person has that same eye for talent or the motivation to get out of their way and let them work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I think he goes somewhere that he can still cover the NBA. So.....Bleacher Report, I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muhammedboehm Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Would Fox want bill to boost Fox Sports and such? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 "The Book of Basketball" is the ultimate door jam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I think Fox Sports would literally murder to get him, but they're in this weird place where their coverage is way too rinky-dink to attract the kind of talent that would make it not rinky-dink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Come on now Zimbra, some of the videos on their Youtube channel have almost 700 views! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 It's been confirmed that Grantland will continue to exist, just seperately from ESPN. 30 for 30 is a bigger concern, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Word around the campfire is that Simmons and ESPN ended negotiations and are parting ways. I don't know what they do with Grantland without him, but I actually think this would be good for Simmons. He's to the point where he doesn't need ESPN, and his style of writing/podcasting would probably be better without the Disney restrictions. SHOUTCAST T.V., BABY!!! He'll be the first Winamp exclusive content. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I think lost in this is that the Grantland Basketball Hour TV show is (in all likelihood) cancelled. John Skipper deserves a Nobel Prize for getting that atrocity off TV. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincey Greene Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 That explains why the most recent Grantland NFL Pod (shouts to Bill Barnwell, DVDVR vet) seemed edgy and weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfredoE Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 LOL! They just aired an episode of that show yesterday and I agree its pretty bad. I'm not a big Simmons fan, probably hate him for being an annoying Laker-hater, but I do give him credit for introducing Zach Lowe and Jonah Keri to my weekly reading. I'm sure those two were someplace else, but it was on Grantland were I finally got to enjoy their work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 It's been confirmed that Grantland will continue to exist, just seperately from ESPN. 30 for 30 is a bigger concern, I think. So he is basically going to be doing everything he is doing now, just without ESPN backing? This actually seems like really good news. Grantland's content will probably be better without ESPN. They were kind of in a position where they had to be the talented but snarky kids who would normally be the kinds of people who call people on their bullshit, except ESPN seems to have a policy where they can't call people out on their bullshit. Hopefully they have more freedom to cover and critique sports and culture in a way that ESPN would not allow. They should be able to criticize how sports is covered, and name the people they are talking about. Sports coverage has been outdated and laughable for probably 20 years. Everyone essentially yells the same things at each other and pretend their making a point. Grantland has a staff that is talented enough to not only change the way sports is covered, but do it in a way that makes other sports coverage seem as outdated as it is. Zach Lowe and Kirk Goldsberry's coverage of the NBA makes most of the media's coverage seem like it's being argued by kindergarteners. I honestly think this is a pretty big deal, and good for us as sports fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 If I was an HBO or Netflix exec I would have Simmons on the phone right now. I would imagine he opens his own website and takes all the good Grantland people with him, but he might as well keep the 30 for 30 type stuff going as well. If that were the case, he would have way more freedom and we would most definitely be getting a Goodell doc by this time next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I think Turner and Yahoo make the most sense for him since they both have the combination of an established online platform and experience with TV/Video production. HBO has the benefit of indulging his starfucker tendencies, but I don't think they'd commit the resources that he'd want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 It's been confirmed that Grantland will continue to exist, just seperately from ESPN. 30 for 30 is a bigger concern, I think. So he is basically going to be doing everything he is doing now, just without ESPN backing? This actually seems like really good news. Grantland's content will probably be better without ESPN. They were kind of in a position where they had to be the talented but snarky kids who would normally be the kinds of people who call people on their bullshit, except ESPN seems to have a policy where they can't call people out on their bullshit. Hopefully they have more freedom to cover and critique sports and culture in a way that ESPN would not allow. They should be able to criticize how sports is covered, and name the people they are talking about. Sports coverage has been outdated and laughable for probably 20 years. Everyone essentially yells the same things at each other and pretend their making a point. Grantland has a staff that is talented enough to not only change the way sports is covered, but do it in a way that makes other sports coverage seem as outdated as it is. Zach Lowe and Kirk Goldsberry's coverage of the NBA makes most of the media's coverage seem like it's being argued by kindergarteners. I honestly think this is a pretty big deal, and good for us as sports fans. From what I understand, Grantland is staying under the ESPN banner, but with a new Chief Editor (not Bill Simmons). We don't know the contract information for many of the major Grantland contributors like Lowe, Barnwell and Keri, so we don't know if their contracts are up at the same time as Simmons, and so we don't know if they will be staying on at ESPN/Grantland, following Simmons to parts unknown, or just going somewhere else entirely. I think the most likely scenario is Grantland and The Undefeated (the yet to be truly revealed "Black Grantland" headed up by Jason Whitlock) will be united under one banner and rebranded as something else. Maybe including the five thirty eight as well. I personally hope that Simmons is replaced at Grantland by Skip Bayless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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