Why Do I Continue to Read Peter King?
- Thread starter John Marzano Olympic Hero
- Start date
Yea. But it's so Peter King. The pseudo-intellectualism of it ("Oh, it sounds so old, European, regal!"), combined with the (inadvertent?) reference to a show that has nothing in common with Peter King's aesthetic or sensabilities at all ("Portlandia") just make it perfect.
Plus it would broadcast King's overwhelming egotism and self satisfaction. Simmons, no slouch when it comes to self pride, avoided that pitfall pretty well with the grantland name.drleather2001 said:
Prior to Grantland, Bill Simmons, whatever his weaknesses as a writer and personality, had demonstrated ability when it came to identifying talent and giving it a platform to do interesting stuff--he had a big hand in getting 30 for 30 rolling. And that's whats kept Grantland working, the fact that (apart from a few stinkers like Lambert) he's put together a solid lineup of writers. Does Peter King have the same knack? I have no idea, and I sort of doubt SI does either. This smacks of "me too"ism.
Well, let's not get carried away with the "Bill Simmons hand picked Grantland" stuff.
At its outset, it was billed as a joint venture between Simmons, Chuck Klosterman, and Dave Eggers. Given that both of the latter two writers (who are both more respected writers than Simmons in their own right) have more-or-less disappeared from Grantland, I think it's pretty clear that ESPN knew that Simmons needed some help in A) lending the site some credibility as a legitimate "writing" site; and B) attracting (or at least vetting/judging) quality writers to contribute. Moreover, it's not like Simmons is sitting at a table with a slush pile of submissions; I'd be shocked if there weren't lower-level ESPN people (production assistants, copy editors, etc...) looking over applications of possible writers and forwarding the top ones on to the Simmons/Klosterman/Eggers (at least at the beginning).
In short: Bill Simmons isn't an island. He had the considerable might and money of ESPN behind him when creating Grantland. Likewise, I'm sure SI will prop up King with some other people to draw initial interest and help him with attracting talent. King isn't going to be calling up internet writers and asking them to come lend a hand.
At its outset, it was billed as a joint venture between Simmons, Chuck Klosterman, and Dave Eggers. Given that both of the latter two writers (who are both more respected writers than Simmons in their own right) have more-or-less disappeared from Grantland, I think it's pretty clear that ESPN knew that Simmons needed some help in A) lending the site some credibility as a legitimate "writing" site; and B) attracting (or at least vetting/judging) quality writers to contribute. Moreover, it's not like Simmons is sitting at a table with a slush pile of submissions; I'd be shocked if there weren't lower-level ESPN people (production assistants, copy editors, etc...) looking over applications of possible writers and forwarding the top ones on to the Simmons/Klosterman/Eggers (at least at the beginning).
In short: Bill Simmons isn't an island. He had the considerable might and money of ESPN behind him when creating Grantland. Likewise, I'm sure SI will prop up King with some other people to draw initial interest and help him with attracting talent. King isn't going to be calling up internet writers and asking them to come lend a hand.
If Kinglandia does only stick to football then it will be a huge disappointment. With an egomaniacal name like Kinglandia it has to be an extension of his beer, coffee, travel douche brand, right?
What was the deal with Eggers and Grantland anyway? I know that he was featured front and center when Grantland launched but I can only remember one article he wrote (watching a Cubs game from a roof deck). I don't think it was a blatant bait-and-switch, but one article?
John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
No idea. Although Grantland is having things published through McSweeney's, which is Eggers' pet project. So maybe he never really intended to be a contributor so much as an advisor/editor/publisher.
How obtuse is he? The premise is this - " I love Welker and agree this will be a step back for the New England offense, but the Patriots can afford it if they use the extra money to improve on D."
And he responds with "If you mean they should have spent a couple of extra million on Welker than they would have paid for Amendola, ..."
No, PK, that is NOT what he meant.
And he responds with "If you mean they should have spent a couple of extra million on Welker than they would have paid for Amendola, ..."
No, PK, that is NOT what he meant.
Life's good in Kinglandia.
http://deadspin.com/peter-king-making-up-to-1-5-million-a-year-for-kingla-458353672
http://deadspin.com/peter-king-making-up-to-1-5-million-a-year-for-kingla-458353672
This thread should have a Haiku contest for the poor schlub Time Warner employees who got nuked so King could start his own vanity project.
Winning Haiku goes on a t-shirt for the laid off riff-raff.
Winning Haiku goes on a t-shirt for the laid off riff-raff.
