When I heard him say it, I thought there was no way they would actually respond. Kind of shocked that they did. I mean, if they want me to pick...Easy choice. ESPN sucks and Bill Simmons is OK, Grantland in general is awesome.
Fire his ass. While you're at it, get rid of all the other drama queens that try to make every sport a soap opera.
Hopefully this doesn't delay the Bill and Jalen NBA Previews. Loved those and they were about to start back up next week
Just a theory... I think Simmons operates however he wants. He wants more power and more control. But if he's fired, if he can even be fired, I don't think he cares. He probably has (and continues to), compiled all kinds of inside info on ESPN for a book/film. I imagine he sees it as a way to make a ton of money, distance himself from ESPN and look like some kind of hero and position himself as the face of the anti-ESPN movement. He leaves and takes as big of a bite out of their market share as he can. And yeah. I know Grantland is ESPN. Trojan horse?
<iframe src="//instagram.com/p/tT3GrdidEG/embed/" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> He posted this yesterday
At this point does Bill and Grantland "need" ESPN or is he simply still with them as a favor for getting him started in the biz? I know if Grantland started a tv station I'd love to have it. Nobody has crossed over sports and pop culture like Bill has over the past couple years. Nowhere else can you get football lines for the week and get Game of Thrones recaps at the same place. It's time for him to leave the nest and take a chance on his own. I almost think in this way Bill is almost asking them to help push him out of the nest.
Will be massively disappointed if those NBA previews are not released/delayed because of this. Those were awesome last year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Who do we have confirmed for our suspension science panel <a href="https://twitter.com/SloanSportsConf">@SloanSportsConf</a> this year?<a href="https://twitter.com/BillSimmons">@BillSimmons</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban">@mcuban</a>, JVG anyone else?</p>— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/514981997756682240">September 25, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> LMAO
Everybody advocating that Simmons leave ESPN must not realize Grantland is a loss-leader for the company. The only reason Grantland can afford great writers like Zach Lowe and Jonathan Abrams without a ton of advertising is because ESPN bankrolls the site. Simmons can't up and leave ESPN without Lowe, Bill Barnwell, etc. losing their jobs, too. I imagine he knows that. ESPN also knows that, despite his prominence, Simmons and his audience are a drop in the bucket compared to their deal with the NFL. They'd rather have Ray Lewis ranting and Jon Gruden stammering for hours on end, while they keep gettin them checks, than Grantlans publish long-form stories about the professional maturation of Kyle Lowry (a great Abrams feature this week, by the way). The only interesting idea thrown around in this thread is Vice. They've been given a lot of money recently and Simmons could go all-out there. But, I don't know if they'd have the cash or willpower to bring Lowe, Barnwell and the rest, too.
Actually, this guy and Stephen A Smith have been getting ridiculous for a while. Sometimes at a company, you have to get your employees back in line. I say kudos to ESPN. What he said can't be validated and it's slanderous, though likely true. Without proof, you still can't say things, though. Good for ESPN for getting their pets back in line (Stephen A Smith was also suspended for his disgusting comments on women needing to get in line if they don't want to get pounded on).
