The Bill Simmons Thread

DLew On Roids

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At the end of the first segment of today's podcast, Simmons says of ESPN, "I wish it wasn't so petty now."

Which was great entertainment after hearing "Picture Me Rollin'" at the top of the podcast, distributed through the Bill Simmons Podcast Network, just a couple hours after reading:

 

nattysez

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Deitsch interviewed the EIC of The Ringer. It sounds like they may do a bit more content aggregation/quick takes than they did in the past, which makes sense if you want more page views. It would be interesting if The Ringer could become a smarter/higher-quality version of Deadspin while also having the regular columns that Grantland had.

It’s also important for me to identify that we want to be more responsive than we were in the past. The work we did at Grantland was great and we took our time with it, which was one of the things that really made it valuable and thoughtful. But we always thought that we were just an inch outside the conversation. We want to be a little more active participants in the conversation on the web.

SI: So if I extrapolate that: You want more commentary on real-time issues to appear on The Ringer?

SF: Yeah, I think that is fair to say but it’s also the speed in which we respond. I think we want to have a group of young writers that can move inside of the news cycle more quickly than we did in the past. We will still have great columnists. We will attempt to have elite feature writing. Those are hallmarks of what we did in the past and totally meaningful to us going forward. But I think we need to move a little quicker given the way consumption works and the way mobile has transformed content. We need to be more nimble.
 

JBill

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I think they've rolled this out well, already over 120,000 followers on twitter. And an email newsletter prior to the website launching seems like a good idea, particularly as that's the only way to read Simmons for now, so they'll have a massive distribution list by the time the website launches.

Fennessey said no comment on the funding in the interview linked above, I wonder how come?
 

nattysez

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I think they've rolled this out well, already over 120,000 followers on twitter. And an email newsletter prior to the website launching seems like a good idea, particularly as that's the only way to read Simmons for now, so they'll have a massive distribution list by the time the website launches.

Fennessey said no comment on the funding in the interview linked above, I wonder how come?
Is it crazy to think that it's being funded by Simmons and a few other guys personally until they get their sponsorships going, but they don't want to advertise that fact?
 

Three10toLeft

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Is it crazy to think that it's being funded by Simmons and a few other guys personally until they get their sponsorships going, but they don't want to advertise that fact?
I'd say that's a pretty likely scenario.

I'm kind of surprised that Simmons is taking all this on at once. A new website with quality long form writing as well as a 30 minute(?) TV show for HBO every week. I'm sure some of the content will be shared between the two entities, but that's still a lot of production. Especially for someone that wasn't writing much towards the end of his Grantland days, and was never really a great TV presence to begin with. Bill seems to be very good at finding the right talent to surround himself with to make up for his shortcomings, and some of the names that have signed on to produce/write for his HBO show seem to prove that he is still very good at identifying the right talent to bring aboard, but to jump in on both of these ventures simultaneously is a rather large undertaking on both parts.
 

allstonite

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I'd say that's a pretty likely scenario.

I'm kind of surprised that Simmons is taking all this on at once. A new website with quality long form writing as well as a 30 minute(?) TV show for HBO every week. I'm sure some of the content will be shared between the two entities, but that's still a lot of production. Especially for someone that wasn't writing much towards the end of his Grantland days, and was never really a great TV presence to begin with. Bill seems to be very good at finding the right talent to surround himself with to make up for his shortcomings, and some of the names that have signed on to produce/write for his HBO show seem to prove that he is still very good at identifying the right talent to bring aboard, but to jump in on both of these ventures simultaneously is a rather large undertaking on both parts.
I was thinking the same but I don't think he'll be as involved in the new site beyond the planning and financing. Like a producer on a movie more than the director. I doubt he'll be writing much more than he was even towards the end of his Grantland run. He's not going to be Editor in Chief this time and he hired some old NFL media guys to help sell ads and other behind the scenes stuff. He hired most of the podcast people back so they run that side of things. Still a lot to take on but I think/hope he can handle it. I am really rooting for him because he can show that ESPN's decision wasn't a financial one and make them look bad for getting rid of one of the few credible brands they had left.
 

JimD

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Given the wave of support for everyone involved in Grantland after getting shut down by ESPN, it probably makes sense to strike now with the website.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Given the wave of support for everyone involved in Grantland after getting shut down by ESPN, it probably makes sense to strike now with the website.
Hopefully Jonah Keri's contract is up soon and he isn't much longer for the WWL. I could give a shit about Barnwell. Who else got stuck behind that we would want?
 

allstonite

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Hopefully Jonah Keri's contract is up soon and he isn't much longer for the WWL. I could give a shit about Barnwell. Who else got stuck behind that we would want?
Jonah has a bunch of new gigs. He writes for SI now, cbssports.com, and also has Nerdist's first sports podcast and is heading their sports division. He also hinted that he's going to be branching out here and there and going beyond baseball and sports. He's probably not going anywhere
 

Three10toLeft

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The Bogut podcast was a good listen, and slightly informative in regards to the process in how the Warriors are where they are now.

But did anyone else thing Bogut sounded like a human didgeridoo on the phone?
 

DLew On Roids

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I was wondering how many times he had to practice the SimpliSafe live read before he could get out "leading universities like Rutgers and UNC-Charlotte" without laughing.
 

Number45forever

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Yup, and BS pod that ends up discussing media is always fantastic. Always loved when John Walsh would come on, or Chris Connelly when their discussions would go to the state of media, etc. Only listened to half of the Curtis pod so far, but it's great.

Also, while Rick Reilly sure is mailing it in for ~20 years now, I'll always have a soft spot for his golf writing from before that time. His recap of the 1986 Masters when he was just starting at SI was fantastic and one of the best pieces of golf journalism I've ever read. The guy is a parody of a parody of himself now, but he was good back in the day.

Golf fans, read it here:

http://www.si.com/vault/1986/04/21/633823/day-of-glory-for-a-golden-oldie
 

JBill

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That was a fun podcast with Curtis, Simmons has great chemistry and back and forth with all the former Grantland people (and now sometimes Ringer people) he brings on to talk to, Wesley Morris especially being one of my favorite guests.
 

sox311

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That's what she said.
The sponsors are so bad... How much does the electronic ab sculptor have to pay to get someone to take them serious enough to take their money and actually advertise. I know, "it is what it is" but it sort of hurts credibility, but it is the internet I guess.
 

Blacken

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Average podcasts can get $16 per thousand listeners for an ad like that. I'm pretty sure the answer to "how much" is "higher than that".
 

bbc23

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I am refusing to listen to any of his pods that discuss Deflategate. Get over it, Bill. You've discussed it to death and you never say anything new on the subject.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Thought the Deflategate part of this podcast was pretty good, he lets Wetzel talk more than he does for some other guests, and Werzel very clearly knows this stuff as well as anyone in the media at this point.
 

johnmd20

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Absolutely, the Dfgate stuff wasn't that long and it was interesting. Not tired of it at all. Wetzel is a great guest, too. That was one of Simmons' better podcasts.
 

Dummy Hoy

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I am refusing to listen to any of his pods that discuss Deflategate. Get over it, Bill. You've discussed it to death and you never say anything new on the subject.
Doesn't this describe him talking about anything for the last 10 years?
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Simmons saying on the latest podcast that he's going to hire a public editor for his new website - just to critique ESPN. That should be fun and feisty.
 

HoyaSoxa

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Interesting roster of writers/contributors revealed today - I can't say I am too familiar with any of them aside from the former Grantlanders, Baker and Concepion. Jonathan Tjarks I have heard of and appears to be a fairly serious basketball writer. Baker and Concepcion certainly have some sports chops, although neither of them are what I would describe as veteran reporter types or advanced analytics people. Mostly the staff seems very pop-culture focused - I am not seeing the Zach Lowe or Jonah Keri types.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Totally happy that Robert Mays is back in the fold. Hired at The Ringer. I don't think Barnwell will be back, and can't say I'll miss him.

@robertmays Life stuff: Pretty excited to say that next month, I'll be joining some old fiends as a staff writer at The Ringer.
 

tmracht

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Totally happy that Robert Mays is back in the fold. Hired at The Ringer. I don't think Barnwell will be back, and can't say I'll miss him.

@robertmays Life stuff: Pretty excited to say that next month, I'll be joining some old fiends as a staff writer at The Ringer.
Did like the Bill and Bob podcasts, but Mays has been really good on the SI Football Pod with Benoit so hopefully they pair him up with someone good back on the BSPN.
 

Senator Donut

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Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
 

PBDWake

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The Jay Glazer interview was interesting to me because Glazer is so ignorant about the repercussions for concussions, pain killers, etc, and has clearly never wanted to educate himself too much, but it's pretty much a snapshot of many athletes involved in the situation. "They said Frank Gifford had CTE, well sign me up for the Frank Gifford experience! He had an awesome life", or "If you don't have a solution, don't tell me about my concussions, ignorance is bliss", or "We were all messed up to begin with, it wasn't like we were alright when we decided to [play football, enlist in the army, MMA]". Basically a complete disbelief that the worst case scenario would happen to him. I wonder if that ego and optimism that "I'll always have the best outcome" is inherent to people that succeed in professional sports.
 

kenneycb

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Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
Boxing fan and it was great. I do love the part at the end about not forgetting random things like his boxing dates. Reminded me of the fact I could name the starting lineup of the Rip Hamilton UConn team earlier today but have difficulty remembering important stuff for school.
 

tbrep

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Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
I think it was easily the best podcast Bills done this year. My favourite part was Jim's recollection of Cosell reciting the lyrics to Bob Dylan's Forever Young during Ali Spinks II.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
Couldn't agree more. Lampley was very impressive - and listening to two guys with such impressive memories for sports events geek out with each other was really fun.
 

BGrif21125

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I agree that parts of the Lampley podcast were interesting and I enjoyed hearing the behind-the-scenes stories about Cosell, sideline reporting, etc.

The sad part for me was when Lampley recited the glowing review that the HBO telecast of Tyson-Douglas had received from a media critic (I forget who) at the time. Word-for-word, it was pretty much the antithesis of what HBO boxing has devolved into in recent years. For many years, HBO boxing was one of the gold standards in sports broadcasting. Now it's nothing more than non-stop hyperbole and false narratives, and Lampley is a big part of the problem.
 

JBill

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I'd recommend the Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer politics podcast with Simmons. I think it's interesting even if you're not a democrat, they have some good insider input having worked in the Obama campaigns and administration.

I saw that Simmons just spun them off into their own podcast on Channel 33, they must be planning that as a regular pod running at least until the election.
 

Gunfighter 09

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The Jay Glazer interview was interesting to me because Glazer is so ignorant about the repercussions for concussions, pain killers, etc, and has clearly never wanted to educate himself too much, but it's pretty much a snapshot of many athletes involved in the situation. "They said Frank Gifford had CTE, well sign me up for the Frank Gifford experience! He had an awesome life", or "If you don't have a solution, don't tell me about my concussions, ignorance is bliss", or "We were all messed up to begin with, it wasn't like we were alright when we decided to [play football, enlist in the army, MMA]". Basically a complete disbelief that the worst case scenario would happen to him. I wonder if that ego and optimism that "I'll always have the best outcome" is inherent to people that succeed in professional sports.
He seemed perfectly educated about the risks to me, he was just very accepting, and somewhat cavalier about them and the costs that come from the sports him and his friend voluntarily participate in. It's his brain, body and life.
 

shlincoln

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I saw that Simmons just spun them off into their own podcast on Channel 33, they must be planning that as a regular pod running at least until the election.
Getting two former high level Obama guys seems like a huge get for Simmons, though both Favreau and Pfieffer need to work on reducing their vocal tics, for example they said "right" way way way too much.