Simmons Is Mad At ESPN (Again)
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
This is not a repeat of 2009, 2008, 2007....wait how many years has Bill Simmons worked at ESPN? Anyway, Simmons had a bit of a Twitter meltdown yesterday after learning that his scoop, which hadn't been taken seriously was credited to Adam Schefter. Bill had reported that Tom Brady had broken three ribs way back on December 10th, but his employer didn't believe the claim until it was reported by a "real reporter"....
Well let's get one thing out of the way first. Of course Bill cares, or he wouldn't be drawing attention to it. Of course it's terrible when someone gets credit for something that you've found first, but what do you expect? Breaking the story, and with "their guys", is all ESPN cares about and they're notorious for claiming credit from others. Just ask Jay Glazer.
All in all, I think this spells the end for Simmons and ESPN. I thought that his (brilliant) work, and time spent on ESPN's 30 for 30, would give him new life.....but apparently there's still an underlying element of mistrust.
Bill Simmons Hammers ESPN's Twitter Policy (Huff Post)
7 Comments:
What is his contract situation?
I can't help but think that SI would love to poach him and he would be a huge coup for someone like Fanhouse or SBNation.
I do enjoy his meltdowns though...
Hey, I'm mad at ESPN, too. Can I get a job? I can talk Boston sports and cycle through the same 5 to 6 pop culture references, while relying on my previously conceived ideas to buoy my failing insights...
I don't have any previously conceived ideas? Devil's always in the details, eh?
He's probably also tired of getting thousands of @sportsguy33's telling him how his story got poached.
Funny, also, how today Page 2 decides to release how all their writers are now on Twitter.
Another thing about Simmons is, while his column writing has taken a bit of a slide (over-reliance on past ideas, though much better than Reilly), his podcasts are tremendous. I'm not sure how much his access would go down if he wasn't with ESPN, but I'm sure they don't want to lose that either. People forget how downloaded he is, it's not just the columns.
I have no idea why there is some much hate for Simmons. If you don't like him, don't read him or take the time to download and listen to the podcasts. I like most of his columns, especially the mailbags. (I skip the NBA articles and pods entirely). I agree with rk that the podcasts are tremendous. They certainly are. I really like the ones with Cousin Sal, because it is just two guys bantering back and forth like we do with our buddies. Really, would you rather listen to an hour of ESPN radio, where you get 20 minutes of commercials, and pointless interviews with second-rate athletes that get asked tough questions like "what is your favorite stadium to play in?"
I don't think it's ego that is causing Simmons to lash out, its the constraint and obvious lack of respect for him despite all he does for them. Plus, they pay that worthless Rick Reilly at least triple what they pay him. If Reilly had a podcast, he would get about 1000 downloads max. Simmons gets hundreds of thousands. And the only time Reilly gets any internet buzz is when he rehashes a column he wrote a few years ago for SI on ESPN.
Simmons would be much better off if he were with another site that decided to leave him alone. I hope he leaves after his contract expires.
It's all a ploy...if the WWL didn't want him to Twitter about whatever..he wouldn't. He's not an idiot. He's making millions of dollars and does whatever the bosses tell him to do. The "I hate my employer" is simply an act. I'm sure his contract has strict language about defamation of ESPN or any of its personalities.
believe me, i don't care.
/tweets three more times on same topic of which he cares nothing about
Sorry, Bill, I don't believe you (said in perfect Ron Burgundy voice)
His ego has been his undoing. He can blame ESPN all he wants to, but he is the one who has ruined himself.