The fact that Congress grants the NFL an anti-trust exemption makes public scrutiny of the NFL and Goodell valid.
I don't disagree with that - my only point is that no one cares. The % of hard-core sports fans out there is much smaller than people think. We saw that with the CSN-H debacle where Comcast was counting on people being angry and switching or whatnot. In reality, people get angry, shrug their shoulders, and find something else to do. The same general principle applies here. People love Simmons, but people read and watch ESPN. If Simmons goes elsewhere, both parties are worse off. Most people aren't going to follow Simmons elsewhere and will continue to watch ESPN. ESPN's programming will get worse. Both parties likely overplayed their hands in negotiations. Small networks go out and try to grab big names from big networks all the time (we've seen this with FoxBusiness, Al Jazeera USA, FoxSports, etc). The hope is that the big name helps the small network become a big network. The reality is almost always that the big name just becomes a small name.
I didnt say she was bad, she's okay. I said she's not so good for Grantland. Though really I should say I PERSONALLY havent cared for her actual writing style. (As in, a poster can be good on Clutchfans even if their writing ability isnt so good) Complaining that Grand Theft Auto doesnt have a playable female character and its ignoring female gamers, that can either be insightful or it can be trite saying that Rockstar is saying 'f--- you' to girl gamers. Maybe its just been random coincidence that 5 out of 5 articles, there's been one point she goes too MUCH on some dissertation for my liking. Maybe not about female obstacles, but just an excess tangent in general. (And yes, its not lost on me the hypocrisy me doing the same thing here in my post...) Anyway.... Bill Simmons, him leaving isnt because of substandard work. Its because of creative differences, or him being off-putting to ESPN heads. That bodes well for him being a success in his next venture because he's still at the top of his game, with even a little more room to expand even MORE unbelievably
I think Lambert has produced some good pieces at Grantland, but, of course, you are entitled to your opinion. I want more diversity, authentic voices and truth. I don't understand why Lambert needs to "fit in" there. She was hired to bring a different voice and sensibility to the boys club. Good. The sports and pop cultural world is full of guys like Simmons now. His success has ensured that. Frankly, Simmons has been coasting on his written pieces for a while. The voice-of-the-fan stuff is fine, but once you are legitimately described as a media mogul, it all reads a little hallow if you keep up with the same shtick.
Hope he replaces Shaq on TNT. I can't understand a thing Shaq says. It is like he has marbles in his mouth.
Wow this is a pretty stupid move by ESPN, Simmons is one of the biggest reasons ESPN has been crushing it, his documentaries, podcast, columns and the Grantland site that he pushed all allowed ESPN to dominate. If he leaves and Zach Lowe, Kirksberry and all the other Grantland writers leave with him then this ESPN president just shot himself in the foot, clearly has no idea what the F he's doing.
This is what ESPN does. U may make more money when you leave but you will never be bigger than the ESPN stage. They find someone new and Simmons will only be followed by internet geeks online. That's just how it works.
I don't know that it's as true with the internet, though. It's true with TV because the establishment limits the viability of "start-up" options. With sports, if you don't have quality live game programming, you're not going to get the audience. And even if you do, getting carriage with cable companies is thorny. Woj is the biggest name in basketball media, and he writes for a site that has no direct affiliation with the league and no TV presence. It's going to be an interesting case study, but I think Simmons will succeed. As you said with the CSN-H example, it's not that people weren't angry -- they were. It's just that once they realized they couldn't do anything about it, they just shrugged their shoulders and moved on. With the internet, you can do something about it -- it's as simple as typing in a different website instead of ESPN.
nba tv needs to pick him up and his writers. he could be what ernie johnson is for tnt, but on nbatv.
Simmons and his fellow writers are some of the few guys at espn that break a nba game down without just saying team A brought more energy tonight or team B just wanted it more tonight. If Simmons leaves espn so will my viewership. Steven A and Broussard bring nothing to the table. They just repeat what Lebron or Melo texts them.
the vine version makes for great viewing raises the obvious question, who does sad better - Bill Simmons or Omer Asik?
I think he might be ****ed. He cant earn that kind of money in salary anywhere else and wherever he lands wont have the capitol to fund his content platform delivery ideas. If he lands somewhere that lacks a real-time sports coverage component... he becomes less relevant.
I think you're wrong. People will come calling. Remember Stern before he went to Sirius? Who expected he'd get a $100M+ offer? But he was worth it to Sirius. Simmons will be worth a LOT to whoever hires him. I don't know how much, but I bet he makes around the same salary, or more. He's probably aiming for equity stake wherever he heads.
