I'm no Simmons hater, but you're being generous with the solid D.

Then again, it's gonna be tough for anyone to measure up to the TBJ standard of excellence in NBA podcasting.

What expiring contracts did Utah have to get Cuttino Mobley? I'm not seeing any.

I'll probably have more nit-picks (with the facts, and all) as I listen to the rest of this crap.

i have liked his colunms lately he clearly is a basketball writer.

I actually liked the podcast, but then again I am a huge basketball fan.

hate! hate! hate! do all bloggers go out of their way to trash Simmons, the most successful blogger. i love all the sports blogs, but at the end of the day most people look forward to a new Simmons article or even podcast a lot more than they look forward to a new post on a blog site.

respect your opinion and all, but writing this article made you way too happy.

And I don't know Simmons, we are not friends, etc...so spare me the 'Simmons friends are posting comments crap'.

I thought it was entertaining enough, although I could have done without the very awkward silence from Stein after Simmons insisted that he could do a better job than 20 NBA GMs by just putting 2 hours a day into it.

Anon- I've resigned myself to not being hateful anymore. I'm just calling this one (and all) as I see it (them).

I loved his announcing gig during the St. Marys game and haven't clubbed him for quite some time. This however was/is terrible, and if you don't see that I feel bad for you.

I think Bill would be the first person to admit that his voice is his worst feature. I'll stick to the columns, thanks.

I have to say that this was terrible. I have heard him on the radio before and he usually isn't too bad, if you can get past the voice. I'll give him a pass on this one since it is his first podcast. I think it will improve greatly if he can get some better guests.

Why do some many people spend time writing about Simmons?

He's a sports writer, not sports itself.

Either read him or don't, but to post columns about him?

"Either read him or don't, but to post columns about him? "

Sir, this is a sports blog entitled "Awful Announcing".

Simmons made a pod cast. That's announcing.

The blogger felt it was poor quality. That's awful.

The, result? A post about Simmons' pod cast on "Awful Announcing".

None of this should be unexpected.

Any other questions?

Just one -- Liberace is dead, so how did they get him to play the role of Bill Simmons on that podcast?

NOIS, thank you for the easy to use equation. Simmons is even more polarizing than Barry Bonds....good lord.

If you say something bad Simmons Lovers freak out....if you say something good Simmons Lovers freak out.

Anon- I agree...he's great on the radio when he's the interviewee not the interviewer. I personally would rather he talk about basketball than ask someone else.

I'm generally against podcasts anyway. I read faster than I listen, and absorb it better. He should stick to columns.

Speak for yourself... that awkward silence after Simmons' idiotic claim about GMing was the best part of the entire 23 minutes, not to mention the only time I laughed.

There's certainly potential, but he's got a ways to go. Killing that intro is a great first step. Not having J-Bug as a guest will be another.

Wow, looks like some of Simpson's fans have gotten on board here. Simmons, evidentially, has posted a lot of good stuff about the NBA recently. I say evidentially because I never read his NBA stuff.

His college basketball stuff was total "deer in the headlights" stuff, though. He obviously didn't understand much about college hoops and it was evident each time he tried to write about it. Even when he became an "expert" on the WCC, he couldn't really offer any insight to it. Simons does have a career as an NBA writer, so if he backed off of the subjects he knows little about (NFL, NCAA football and hoops), he would probably have a pretty effective fan base. of course, you could lob him some Red Sox softballs when his team is good.

But the Pod Cast? That just can't end well.

I made it about halfway through and had to quit.

I actually like a good bit of his stuff, but that was just boring.

I think the intro was supposed to be ironically funny, but it was awful.

Can't wait to hear Sully, J-Bug or House on the next one.

It was not great but it is free. I would rather listen to Bill Simmons on the NBA than pay for the "insider" stuff.