The Bill Simmons Thread

bbc23

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maufman said:
Simmons will make more money as part of a conglomerate than on his own -- someone will pay for the supposed "synergy" of bringing Simmons's audience to their existing content, well above what Simmons's enterprises generate on their own. Maybe he'll leave money on the table and go it alone, but the declining level of effort he's put into his writing over the years makes me think that's not his area of focus.
 
There's a world of difference in terms of corporate culture between Disney and Time Warner. The fact that Simmons wasn't comfortable at ESPN doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't be at Turner.
 
With a couple of notable exceptions, Grantland's writers didn't have anywhere near the leverage that Bill Simmons had when they all signed contracts. I suspect most of them aren't free to leave Grantland and follow Simmons where he goes, at least not right away.
The word is that in California, it's incredibly easy to get out of employment contracts along with non-competes being unenforceable.  It'll be extremely interesting/telling who Simmons tries to bring with him.  
 

donutogre

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maufman said:
With a couple of notable exceptions, Grantland's writers didn't have anywhere near the leverage that Bill Simmons had when they all signed contracts. I suspect most of them aren't free to leave Grantland and follow Simmons where he goes, at least not right away.
 
There's so much turnover in journalism (both from layoffs or just employees always wanting to move on to the next good opportunity) that I don't think non-competes are all that common. For bigger names, sure, but smaller cogs keeping a site running are probably not subject to such restraints. I say that as someone who works for Vox Media / The Verge and knows plenty of people at other sites who I don't believe are subject to such things. 
 
That said, unless it's obvious that Grantland is going to get deprioritized and mothballed, I wouldn't expect a mass exodus or anything.
 

DourDoerr

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Wherever he ends up, those first few months ought to be spectacular if he goes off on ESPN.  It'd be interesting to get an unvarnished look at the company from someone who's been deep within it for years with nothing to fear.
 

dirtynine

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Hope this helps him get his voice back.  
 
An independent, pull-no-punches Simmons on Twitter would be pretty interesting to watch.  (Meaning some good stuff, and probably a few train wrecks too.)
 

Dehere

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maufman said:
Simmons will make more money as part of a conglomerate than on his own -- someone will pay for the supposed "synergy" of bringing Simmons's audience to their existing content, well above what Simmons's enterprises generate on their own. Maybe he'll leave money on the table and go it alone, but the declining level of effort he's put into his writing over the years makes me think that's not his area of focus.
 
There's a world of difference in terms of corporate culture between Disney and Time Warner. The fact that Simmons wasn't comfortable at ESPN doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't be at Turner.
 
With a couple of notable exceptions, Grantland's writers didn't have anywhere near the leverage that Bill Simmons had when they all signed contracts. I suspect most of them aren't free to leave Grantland and follow Simmons where he goes, at least not right away.
 
In base salary this is probably true but if Simmons chose to go out and raise money to start a new venture that he would have significant equity in it would at least create the potential for him to make much more money than he could at a traditional media company. Not to say that potential would actually be realized - personally I think it would be a mistake for him to try to go it alone - but the chance to bet on himself in a new venture that he would partly own may be a hard thing to pass up.
 

Cellar-Door

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I'd guess that most writers at Grantland don't have non-compete clauses. I know that The verge poached Emily Yoshida a few months back as an example of someone who left for a similar job. Also Koppleman moved his podcast from Grantland to Slate last month.
 

dirtynine

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I usually enjoy Deadspin bagging on Simmons, but man are they obsessed.  I think they've already published 5-6 consecutive stories about this relatively straightforward news. 
 

Cellar-Door

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Wow apparently his deal goes through September. Interesting to see what happens over the next 5 months with Grantland. Might get a sense where he's thinking of going if writers start jumping ship to one place in particular.
 

DLew On Roids

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Remagellan said:
I disagree.  I think Lowe Klosterman is better off without Simmons.  There are times when they do pods together that Lowe Klosterman seems to get frustrated by Simmons injecting his silly entertainment sports comparisons or his pet theories about the sport  pop culture when Lowe Klosterman just wants to have a serious conversation about basketball it with someone who knows what he's talking about.  
 

Buck Showalter

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The perfect gig for Simmons is to be move back east and be paired-up with Francesa on WFAN --- with a national simulcast on television.
 
As MF ages and moves on.....Bill would be the biggest voice in the biggest city in America.
 

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Buck Showalter said:
The perfect gig for Simmons is to be move back east and be paired-up with Francesa on WFAN --- with a national simulcast on television.
 
As MF ages and moves on.....Bill would be the biggest voice in the biggest city in America.
As opposed to now when he is probably the biggest voice in almost every city? Simmons is way past Francesca in terms of relevance. Doing radio would be like Joss Whedon following up his Avengers run by going to work in Branson.
 

Clears Cleaver

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Francesca offered him that role when Mad Dog left.
 
ESPN will try to tie up the Grantland staff between now and September. I'm guessing Simmons has accumulated enough vacation days over the past 12 years to take a sixeable piece of that five months off if he wanted
 
As delicious as it would be for Bill to destroy ESPN after he left, I doubt it will happen. For a myriad of reasons.
 
I wouldn't bet against him going to work for a big studio in Hollywood.
 

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mandro ramtinez said:
Simmons has given Lowe a chance to appear on TV on the Grantland Basketball Hour more than once, which has to be a significant boost to ZL's profile.  I wonder if Lowe would follow Simmons if Simmons still was able to offer that exposure to Lowe wherever he ends up.
 
If ESPN were smart, they'd build a NBA show around Lowe like the NFL Matchup show that Jaworski and Hoge host.   Zack Lowe and another really sharp analyst breaking down the game for a half-hour would be better than an hour of lame jokes and crude animations that comprise the Grantland Basketball Hour.  
 

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Buck Showalter said:
The perfect gig for Simmons is to be move back east and be paired-up with Francesa on WFAN --- with a national simulcast on television.
 
As MF ages and moves on.....Bill would be the biggest voice in the biggest city in America.
 
Neither of them would be happy with that, given the size of their egos.  
 

mandro ramtinez

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Remagellan said:
 
If ESPN were smart, they'd build a NBA show around Lowe like the NFL Matchup show that Jaworski and Hoge host.   Zack Lowe and another really sharp analyst breaking down the game for a half-hour would be better than an hour of lame jokes and crude animations that comprise the Grantland Basketball Hour.  
Lowe already does some of that in his columns.  If ESPN could pair him with a guy like Matt Moore (HPbasketball), I would totally watch the kind of show you suggest.  
 
If Simmons goes to Turner/NBA TV, he might be able to replicate the Grantland Basketball Hour but it would probably end up on NBA TV and not have much reach.
 

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I think he'll end up on TNT with Kenny, Charles, and the other guy. The other guy is awesome, by the way.
 

nattysez

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James Andrew Miller ‏@JimMiller  2m2 minutes ago
There were no significant negotiations going on between @BillSimmons & @espn; no $ requests from his side on table at all. #Simmons
 
 
It sure seems like Goodell called ESPN and said "Simmons is out."  Though maybe Skipper just heard what happened on Dan Patrick and decided he'd had enough, even without a call from the NFL.
 
Edit:
 
 
James Andrew Miller ‏@JimMiller  2m2 minutes ago
When @BillSimmons was suspended in Sept,no $ deducted from his paycheck but on 12/19 (right b4 Xmas) 2weeks pay was gone. It was over then.
 
 

nattysez

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jose melendez said:
If Simmons thinks the NFL called for his scalp, he should sure as hell say so, but I'm extremely skeptical that's the case.
 
Turns out you should be -- Deadspin makes it sound like Skipper was enraged by his appearance on Dan Patrick's show (as suggested in a link posted above earlier).
 
And that brings us to today, with Skipper summarily dispatching Simmons. Given the timing of Richard Sandomir’s report that broke the news, ESPN’s scramble to put out a statement, John Walsh’s ignorance as of last night, and Simmons’s continued promotion of Grantland work, it feels like a spur-of-the-moment thing. Skipper, according to multiple sources, really was angered beyond all reason by Simmons’s appearance on The Dan Patrick Show yesterday; employees are barred from going on the former ESPNer’s show without obtaining prior permission. Miller, more plugged into Bristol than just about anyone else, called it “the tipping point.”
 
 

DJnVa

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Yeah, lots of descriptions by people that this was a firing.
 
As thin-skinned as Bill is, it could get interesting.
 
Four sources tell us there’s a rumor going around ESPN and Grantland that Simmons found out about the move via Twitter. (A fifth source denies this.) “Cold-hearted/hilarious,” one person says. “Guy is a massive dickhead. But he’ll just land at Fox Sports with Horowitz now for the same money. Yay.”
 
“Ding Dong the witch is dead.” (That’s how one ESPN staffer describes the vibe in Bristol.)
 
—“It was pretty clear they haven’t gotten along in a long time.”
 
“Can’t say anything right now.”
 
“Everything is high school.”
 
“Not unexpected.”
 
“From everything I heard, [Grantland] was only viable due to Simmons traffic and sponsorship $.”
 

Three10toLeft

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I'd be pretty surprised if he goes to Fox, considering how much he's trashed them in the past on his podcast. I understand dancing dollars and all, but if Bill really wants to leave a mark with any of his work, not just his writing which he seems to do less and less of, it doesn't seem like Fox would be the place.

Turner seems like a really interesting possibility.
 

epraz

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DrewDawg said:
 
“From everything I heard, [Grantland] was only viable due to Simmons traffic and sponsorship $.”
 
It might be more viable after it takes Simmons' salary off the books.
 

DLew On Roids

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I had that exact painter's cap.
 
Rembert's Twitter location is now "Senior Spring, Grantland."  Guess we know where his loyalties lie.
 
Real classy to call someone a massive dickhead anonymously, even if true.  My guess is his resume is in Simmons's inbox whenever he lands.
 

dirtynine

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Starting to get kind of a Skipper == Belichick, Simmons == Lawyer Milloy vibe from some of the later coverage (J.Miller, NY Times, etc.). 
 

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Three10toLeft said:
I'd be pretty surprised if he goes to Fox, considering how much he's trashed them in the past on his podcast. I understand dancing dollars and all, but if Bill really wants to leave a mark with any of his work, not just his writing which he seems to do less and less of, it doesn't seem like Fox would be the place.

Turner seems like a really interesting possibility.
Yeah, his shtick won't scare off the NBA or its network, whereas he's anathema to the NFL.
 

Cellar-Door

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epraz said:
 
It might be more viable after it takes Simmons' salary off the books.
I doubt it. When the network launched there was an article predicting (probably correctly) that it was never going to make a profit in the form it had. Basically it pays writers very well and has very little in the way of advertising. That put an onus on high traffic, high engagement, and high value sponsors. It has much higher engagement that competitors, but the consensus is that a big percentage of the traffic is driven by Simmons, and that the sponsors won't put up the money they have without the big name of Simmons there.
 
If Grantland continues, it will either be because Skipper is willing to take  losses to avoid having it collapse post-Simmons making him look stupid, OR they'll have to make changes to how they operate, cut budgets, add advertising the way ESPN.com works.
 
Though maybe they'll just replace it with Skipper's baby... Whitlock's "Black Grantland" project, that is between 6 months and a year behind schedule and widely considered a colossal clusterfuck.
 

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Mike Greenwall said:
Bill is responsible for me finding this site during the '04 season.  Will be interesting to see where he ends up.  I think a full-time basketball gig, with free-lance stuff on the side.
 
I came to this site in 2001 because of Bill. He then wrote a long piece on "Win it For" three years later. Yes, he is not the same Digital City Bill, but I still have enjoyed him recently, most often as a television analyst, Boston sports twitterist, and occasionally sage interviewer on his various podcasts. 
 

Nick Kaufman

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Remagellan said:
 
 
I disagree.  I think Lowe is better off without Simmons.  There are times when they do pods together that Lowe seems to get frustrated by Simmons injecting his silly entertainment comparisons or his pet theories about the sport when Lowe just wants to have a serious conversation about basketball with someone who knows what he's talking about.  
 
Yeah, I don't think Simmons' chemistry with Lowe was all that great. I ve been listening to a lot of his podcasts the past few months and I thought the one he really clicked more with and he could talk with for ages was Michelle Beadle. Next up was Haralabos Voulgaris. Most awkward and forced? Larry David, although that was probably David's fault.
 

Nick Kaufman

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DourDoerr said:
Wherever he ends up, those first few months ought to be spectacular if he goes off on ESPN.  It'd be interesting to get an unvarnished look at the company from someone who's been deep within it for years with nothing to fear.
 
I don't think it's a good policy to badmouth your old employees regardless of whether you re going to see them again or not. Sure, we ll get a few nuggets here and there, but nothing I big I think.
 

Nick Kaufman

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DontTauntOrtizMe said:
Jim Miller is saying that Simmons' appearance on the Dan Patrick Show yesterday in which he said Goodell "has a lack of testicular fortitude" was the "tipping point" for his future with ESPN.  https://twitter.com/JimMiller/status/596719922530492416
 
 
If that's the case, then this speaks volumes, not for Simmons, but for the inter tangled relationships between leagues and broadcasters.
 

Blacken

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My understanding is that Lowe and Simmons have a really great personal relationship and listening to the both of them talk I don't get the "don't play well together" vibe at all.

I hope Lowe doesn't stay at ESPN. Doesn't have to go where Simmons goes, but he's way too smart and way too willing to speak his mind to put up with that shitshow. And dear god do I hope Matt Moore doesn't go to ESPN. TruHoop already neuters good writers, I don't even want to imagine what it'll do when it puts them on TV.

(I like really Matt and he's a good dude, so I hope a dump truck of money appears at his door, just not from them.)
 

Nick Kaufman

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My understanding is that Lowe and Simmons have a really great personal relationship and listening to the both of them talk I don't get the "don't play well together" vibe at all.
 
 
I dont' think they don't like each other. Lowe seems an easy going guy for one. It's just that I think they operate on different levels and they don't mesh as well.