doublehoya
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
That's Right, I Said Minivan!
Posts: 980
|
Post by doublehoya on Mar 14, 2006 23:02:27 GMT -5
I have pretty stopped reading him regularly, mostly because I couldn't care less about the NBA, but his 9/11 column and his Vegas column(s) were great, in my opinion. He captured going to Vegas as a 20-something guy better than anyone I have seen.
I think he is more enjoyable if you read him as an entertainment/pop culture columnist that knows a thing or two about sports instead of as a sports columnist who uses pop culture references as a crutch.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2006 23:06:51 GMT -5
I have pretty stopped reading him regularly, mostly because I couldn't care less about the NBA, but his 9/11 column and his Vegas column(s) were great, in my opinion. He captured going to Vegas as a 20-something guy better than anyone I have seen. I think he is more enjoyable if you read him as an entertainment/pop culture columnist that knows a thing or two about sports instead of as a sports columnist who uses pop culture references as a crutch. Well said. I can go with that.
|
|
VelvetElvis
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
pka MrPathetic
Posts: 934
|
Post by VelvetElvis on Mar 15, 2006 10:05:43 GMT -5
I can't believe this yayhoo garnered two pages on this board. What is more unbelievable is me bumping this right now!
|
|
Whoya
Century (over 100 posts)
ICU81MI
Posts: 162
|
Post by Whoya on Mar 15, 2006 11:54:15 GMT -5
His parents are divorced- he lived with his mom and went to HS in Fairfield Co., but his father remained near Boston, he went to Holy Cross then BU. He spent the first 10 years or so of his career working in Boston and his dad still lives in Wellesley, MA. I don't have a crush on him, I swear. He also has stated he went to prep school. I wonder which one? I don't know of any boarding schools in Fairfield County, but there are lots of the day school types. He went to Brunswick in Greenwich. For the record, he was very funny pre-ESPN, but lost the edge once he went over. I still read him for awhile, but haven't for about a year or so.
|
|
Boz
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
123 Fireballs!
Posts: 10,355
|
Post by Boz on Mar 15, 2006 12:08:18 GMT -5
Just to clear the air. . .
I am not jealous of Simmons' humor, I respect anyone who is funny -- and he really can be -- though I probably am jealous of his success. He took a hobby and turned it into a career. Something I think we'd all like to do.
Main reasons I dislike Simmons:
1. He hates Georgetown (maybe now we have an idea why), John Thompson and Patrick Ewing.
2. The Ewing theory is not his, but he passes it off as though it is far too often.
3. When he takes himself too seriously. He is not a sportswriter, he is a humorist. When he remembers this, I find him entertaining. When he forgets, he is abysmal.
4. With the exception of the Bruins, I dislike most Boston teams almost as much as New York teams.
I enjoy lots of his pop culture articles and his running diaries (though Chuck Klosterman is a much better writer) and he is funny (though I think Patrick Hruby is funnier - and he went to Georgetown). I can't abide that Red Sox stories, the faux NBA "insider" stories, and most any time he likes to think of himself as a serious writer. Take a clue from Dave Barry - there's nothing wrong with simply being a humorist and leaving it at that. I think too often he thinks of himself in the TK mold, but TK does have the credentials and chops as a journalist, though he doesn't do that as a job anymore.
Modified: Actually, after further consideration, I find the above post far too thoughtful and nuanced. Let me rephrase my opinion in a manner more suited to my taste:
I HATE BILL SIMMONS AND EVERYTHING HE STANDS FOR!!!
|
|
TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 9,459
|
Post by TC on Mar 15, 2006 21:45:32 GMT -5
Just to clear the air. . . I enjoy lots of his pop culture articles and his running diaries (though Chuck Klosterman is a much better writer) and he is funny (though I think Patrick Hruby is funnier - and he went to Georgetown). Chuck Klosterman is a good writer but he has his failings too. It's painful to read chapters like "If my ex-girlfriends were all 70's rock bands, this one would be.." Sometimes he sounds like Ross from Friends when talking about ex-girlfriends. That said, I think Klosterman is a lot deeper than Bill Simmons, but Simmons has more range.
|
|
SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,791
|
Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 15, 2006 22:03:12 GMT -5
Klosterman may be deeper, and he may be a better writer, but he's even more reliant on pop culture references than Simmons, and his cultural knowledge seems to have stopped in 1993.
He's like a former roommate I had who stopped watching sports in 1986. He kept asking if Riggins was still on the Skins. You need new material sometimes.
|
|
PDRHoya99
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 766
|
Post by PDRHoya99 on Mar 15, 2006 22:39:46 GMT -5
1. He hates Georgetown (maybe now we have an idea why), John Thompson and Patrick Ewing. I understand there is some legitimate Georgetown hate out there (see Feinstein, John), but I've never seen much that would suggest he really hates the school. He barely ever writes about anything other than the NBA, teams in Boston, Gambling or hating the Yankees. I will say I do dislike him for his hatred of the Bengals (he consistently picked against them all season, and finished with a pitiful record against the spread this past year). His occasional rants about things in LA are humorous. I enjoy lots of his pop culture articles and his running diaries (though Chuck Klosterman is a much better writer) and he is funny (though I think Patrick Hruby is funnier - and he went to Georgetown). I would love it if Hruby got as half as much space on Page 2 as Simmons does. His columns at Georgetown about Hernan, the saucy buccaneer mascot of Tampa Bay, or unintentional stalking incident of the Washington Post Sports Editor were pure genious.
|
|
PDRHoya99
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 766
|
Post by PDRHoya99 on Mar 15, 2006 22:42:26 GMT -5
He's like a former roommate I had who stopped watching sports in 1986. He kept asking if Riggins was still on the Skins. You need new material sometimes. Which roommate was that, Ellis?
|
|
SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,791
|
Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 15, 2006 23:37:43 GMT -5
He's like a former roommate I had who stopped watching sports in 1986. He kept asking if Riggins was still on the Skins. You need new material sometimes. Which roommate was that, Ellis? Of course. If you're going to mention Hernan, why not mention his almost as talented teammate, NT Sandy Jordan?
|
|
Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
|
Post by Jack on Mar 15, 2006 23:45:48 GMT -5
No mention of Chin Music is complete without a reference to virtual George Butler.
|
|
Cambridge
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Canes Pugnaces
Posts: 5,304
|
Post by Cambridge on Mar 15, 2006 23:52:41 GMT -5
How did no one mention that his buddy House picked Gtown to go to the Elite 8 and lose to Nova with the following explaination: "Villanova against Georgetown is going to be a bloodbath -- possibly the best game in the tourney. John Thompson III and [Hoyas assistant coach] Robert Burke both went to my high school, so Georgetown gets the love. Plus, I'm already envisioning CBS' pregame Rollie Massimino/John Thompson montage from the 80s and I'm choking up a little." Wow. Just saying...whatever your opinions about SG, his boy House is alright with me. sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons
|
|
|
Post by NickSixers on Mar 16, 2006 0:37:46 GMT -5
How did no one mention that his buddy House picked Gtown to go to the Elite 8 and lose to Nova with the following explaination: "Villanova against Georgetown is going to be a bloodbath -- possibly the best game in the tourney. John Thompson III and [Hoyas assistant coach] Robert Burke both went to my high school, so Georgetown gets the love. Plus, I'm already envisioning CBS' pregame Rollie Massimino/John Thompson montage from the 80s and I'm choking up a little." Wow. Just saying...whatever your opinions about SG, his boy House is alright with me. sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmonsYou don't mention that Bill has us losing in the first round to UNI. Second publication I read today that has us losing that game, the other being Sports Illustrated.
|
|
PDRHoya99
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 766
|
Post by PDRHoya99 on Mar 16, 2006 4:29:39 GMT -5
Which roommate was that, Ellis? Of course. If you're going to mention Hernan, why not mention his almost as talented teammate, NT Sandy Jordan? At what point does the inside joke become so inside that it necessitates a PM rather than an actual post? I guess that wouldn't let you add to your extremely impressive number of posts. I'm just hoping to make it to 100 by the end of the tourney.
|
|