Possible Lecture Fund Guest?

[Jack]

Hoyatalk punching bag, ESPN columnist, best-selling author and Patrick Ewing-hater Bill Simmons seems to be offering his services to the university community in his blog:

One promise: I will return to DC within the next few months, on my own, and arrange it myself so nothing gets screwed up. Maybe I could do a speaking thingie at Georgetown (the college that rejected me in 1988!!!) and then a signing afterwards.

sportsguy.blogspot.com/

I received a copy of his new book and I am enjoying it, though the excerpt posted on espn.com sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/book/091027 about Patrick continues to frustrate me, in no small part because of the fact that the "Ewing Theory" is supposed to date back to his days in blue and gray and alleges that his teams played better without him.

Considering that Georgetown played in 3 national championship games during his career and did not return for 21 years (or until his son was a senior), that cannot be true in the fullest sense. Is there any way of showing +/- numbers from his playing career to see if it can also be disproven on every level? Not worth anyone's time probably.

Finally, I know I have mentioned this before, but I once wrote an email to him back before he was at ESPN and while I was working at Georgetown's admissions office. My signature included my title (Admissions Officer) and when he replied he said something to the effect of "I wish I had known you when I was rejected 15 years ago." I wonder if his avowed lack of interest in college basketball may have changed had he spent his college years with Zo and Dikembe rather than with the Holy Cross Crusaders.

[TC]

Have you got to the part where he argues that John Thompson doesn't belong in the HOF?

[TBird41]

Nov 4, 2009 16:59:33 GMT -5 TC said:

Have you got to the part where he argues that John Thompson doesn't belong in the HOF?

Really? He makes that argument? Is there any reason behind it?

[Jack]

Nov 4, 2009 17:16:05 GMT -5 TBird41 said:

Nov 4, 2009 16:59:33 GMT -5 TC said:

Have you got to the part where he argues that John Thompson doesn't belong in the HOF?

Really? He makes that argument? Is there any reason behind it?

Hadn't gotten to that but just searched the index and the reference is to his segment on "What if John Thompson never screwed up the '88 Olympics?" Clearly it is critical of Thompson, but does not directly say he is undeserving of the HOF in this footnote (he loves him some footnotes):

Let's chisel this on Thompson's HOF plaque: SCREWED UP '88 OLYMPICS, COST USA GOLD right above HAD MOURNING AND MUTOMBO AT SAME TIME, NEVER ADVANCED PAST SECOND ROUND

So, there's that, too, though obviously forgetting the 1989 tournament.

[TC]

I gotta say, I love his columns, but like his books less so because of the footnotes. They are distracting and there are so many of them that it constantly breaks the flow of the writing.

And yeah, he just argues that terrible things should be etched into Thompson's HOF plaque.

[jgalt]

The guy is a tool. I will gladly pay the fee for him to speak here (3 cents is something I can spare) just for an opportunity to throw rotten fruit at him.

[Boz]

Nov 4, 2009 17:26:46 GMT -5 Jack said:

Hadn't gotten to that but just searched the index and the reference is to his segment on "What if John Thompson never screwed up the '88 Olympics?" Clearly it is critical of Thompson, but does not directly say he is undeserving of the HOF in this footnote (he loves him some footnotes):

Let's chisel this on Thompson's HOF plaque: SCREWED UP '88 OLYMPICS, COST USA GOLD right above HAD MOURNING AND MUTOMBO AT SAME TIME, NEVER ADVANCED PAST SECOND ROUND

So, there's that, too, though obviously forgetting the 1989 tournament.

Does he have editors? What about fact-checkers? Does that job still exist in 2009? Can we get a coke-addled, Phoebe Cates-obsessed Michael J. Fox to look a few of these things up before they go into print?

Sheesh!

Nov 4, 2009 16:06:02 GMT -5 Jack said:

Considering that Georgetown played in 3 national championship games during his career and did not return for 21 years (or until his son was a senior), that cannot be true in the fullest sense. Is there any way of showing +/- numbers from his playing career to see if it can also be disproven on every level? Not worth anyone's time probably.

And seeing as how Georgetown actually won a national championship and three Big East championships - in direct conflict with the stupid Ewing Theory - that he's still Georgetown's all-time leading rebounder, second all-time leading scorer, and the Hoyas had an overall record of 121-23 while Patrick Ewing was here, yeah, I'd say it's probably not worth anyone's time.

Simmons is a yutz.

[Deleted]

Nov 4, 2009 17:37:43 GMT -5 Boz said:

Does he have editors? What about fact-checkers? Does that job still exist in 2009? Can we get a coke-addled, Phoebe Cates-obsessed Michael J. Fox to look a few of these things up before they go into print?

Sheesh!

Dick Vitale once "wrote" a book about college basketball which featured some great stories about Georgetown star Alan Iverson.

True story.

[williambraskyiii]

Nov 5, 2009 11:11:50 GMT -5 @cam said:

Nov 4, 2009 17:37:43 GMT -5 Boz said:

Does he have editors? What about fact-checkers? Does that job still exist in 2009? Can we get a coke-addled, Phoebe Cates-obsessed Michael J. Fox to look a few of these things up before they go into print?

Sheesh!

Dick Vitale once "wrote" a book about college basketball which featured some great stories about Georgetown star Alan Iverson.

True story.

Who is this Alan Iverson that you speak of? Is he an accountant?

[Boz]

I think he was the captain of the ship in that ridiculous movie, "The Core."

You know, the one who got his skull split in half by a geode crystal, forcing The Next Karate Kid to take over the mission.

I both love and hate myself for posting this.

Call it an homage to the one thing Bill Simmons does very, very well.

[hoosierhoya]

Slate review of the book: www.slate.com/id/2235355/

Favorite quote: "Three pages after the Moses Malone-Marilyn Chambers analogy, he says that Shaquille O'Neal is like porn star Peter North—"dominant, but not the best." He also likens Karl Malone to a "fake-boobed Asian stripper" and Jason Kidd to "a smoking-hot girl … wearing a 32A." (The small bra size is a reference to Kidd's poor shooting ability. It kind of makes sense in context.)"

[TC]

Was trying to find somewhere to put this, this is as good as anywhere :

On the 12/4/2014 BS Report (guest: Chuck Klosterman), Klosterman is asking Simmons about why he chose to go to Holy Cross and why he didn't choose a school with a sports franchise. I know he's talked about it before but Simmons starts talking about how he wanted to go to Georgetown but didn't get in and then goes on a jag about how his sports takes would have been completely different if he had gone to Georgetown vs. Holy Cross (Ewing theory would have been completely different, would have written extensively about Alonzo, etc).

I thought it was interesting and worth a listen if you're a Sports Guy enthusiast.

[strummer8526]

Nov 5, 2009 11:11:50 GMT -5 @cam said:

Nov 4, 2009 17:37:43 GMT -5 Boz said:

Does he have editors? What about fact-checkers? Does that job still exist in 2009? Can we get a coke-addled, Phoebe Cates-obsessed Michael J. Fox to look a few of these things up before they go into print?

Sheesh!

Dick Vitale once "wrote" a book about college basketball which featured some great stories about Georgetown star Alan Iverson.

True story.

I'm frankly surprised that Dick Vitale has ever read a book. Shouted in the presence of a book? Sure. But read and/or written...I'm going to need proof.

[Problem of Dog]

I personally would like to see Richard Coleman '57 '61 invited to speak.

[Elvado]

Nov 4, 2009 17:26:46 GMT -5 Jack said:

Nov 4, 2009 17:16:05 GMT -5 TBird41 said:

Really? He makes that argument? Is there any reason behind it?

Hadn't gotten to that but just searched the index and the reference is to his segment on "What if John Thompson never screwed up the '88 Olympics?" Clearly it is critical of Thompson, but does not directly say he is undeserving of the HOF in this footnote (he loves him some footnotes):

Let's chisel this on Thompson's HOF plaque: SCREWED UP '88 OLYMPICS, COST USA GOLD right above HAD MOURNING AND MUTOMBO AT SAME TIME, NEVER ADVANCED PAST SECOND ROUND

So, there's that, too, though obviously forgetting the 1989 tournament.

Unfortunately he forgot the what if Danny Manning and David Robinson hadn't played like Edited question that goes hand in hand...