I used to like this guy. Now his whole act has gotten staler than Chris Berman's nicknames schtick. I still read his NBA stuff, because for the most part, he knows what he's talking about. Except for the axe he has to grind against the Pistons.

Of course, Little Billy is a big Boston fan. Even goes so far to say 'we' in regards to the Celts, Pats and Sox. As a result, he tries to bag on the Pistons every chance he gets, since the Bad Boys effectively ended the Boston Dynasty back in the day.

I don't usually think media members are biased against certain teams. Simmons, however, obviously hates the Pistons. So, before giving you his latest gems, I'd just like to say, "**** Bill Simmons."

From his latest:

29. Joe Dumars
I was rooting for Detroit to bring Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon off the bench this season, just so I could make the "any time you can pay $94 million and lock up your cap space for two bench guys, you gotta do it" joke. But the Pistons foiled me by starting Villanueva. Still, they dumped Chauncey Billups and effectively tanked last season for cap flexibility; now that flexibility is gone, only they look like a mortal lock for the lottery. (You realize their "big men" are The Artist Formely Known As Ben Wallace, Kwame Brown, Villanueva and Chris Wilcox, right?) And this was a good plan … how? Some day you'll have to explain this whole "Joe Dumars is a good GM" thing to me.

15b. Allen Iverson
I remain an Iverson fan. He's my No. 1 choice for a magazine feature. I thought he got a raw deal in Detroit. I think Charlotte made a mistake not pursuing him this summer. But for the league's most depressing franchise to sign Iverson in his "I need to prove I'm not done!" season, then expect him to successfully share the ball with O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph for 82 games … I mean, you have a better chance of seeing the state of Utah allow gay marriage.

link: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.../091023&sportCat=nba

I don't understand why people get so upset by his opinions. I personally love that guy's writing and he wasn't exactly kind to the Cavs in that piece.

Remember, just because someone isn't a sugar coating everything doesn't mean they are morons. He has his opinion and he will be wrong on many things. It doesn't mean it's not interesting to read.

Personally, I love Bill Simmons. I think he's one of the best sports writers out there. It's just his opinion just like we all have. Doesn't mean anything. I think he is wrong on Joe being a GM and AI getting a raw deal and would love to debate with him about it.

Still, he is a fun guy to read.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Evil:
Personally, I love Bill Simmons. I think he's one of the best sports writers out there. It's just his opinion just like we all have. Doesn't mean anything. I think he is wrong on Joe being a GM and AI getting a raw deal and would love to debate with him about it.

Still, he is a fun guy to read.

Exactly. Do I think his take on the Shaq 100% right? No. However, I do think that his argument has some merit. I also would love to get into a discussion with him about it.

He is hands-down my favorite sports writer. I am really pumped to pick up his book on Tuesday.

In fact, I just read his whole article and I thought it was great. He makes the NBA sound like a fun soap apera. I love it! And I think I am going to buy his book for some fun winter reading.

quote:

Originally posted by No Offense:

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Evil:
Personally, I love Bill Simmons. I think he's one of the best sports writers out there. It's just his opinion just like we all have. Doesn't mean anything. I think he is wrong on Joe being a GM and AI getting a raw deal and would love to debate with him about it.

Still, he is a fun guy to read.

Exactly. Do I think his take on the Shaq 100% right? No. However, I do think that his argument has some merit. I also would love to get into a discussion with him about it.

He is hands-down my favorite sports writer. I am really pumped to pick up his book on Tuesday.

That's funny because I agree with what he said about Shaq. I think he is going to bring your team down. You will still win 55+ wins because of LBJ but I think adding him made you worse.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Evil:

quote:

Originally posted by No Offense:

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Evil:
Personally, I love Bill Simmons. I think he's one of the best sports writers out there. It's just his opinion just like we all have. Doesn't mean anything. I think he is wrong on Joe being a GM and AI getting a raw deal and would love to debate with him about it.

Still, he is a fun guy to read.

Exactly. Do I think his take on the Shaq 100% right? No. However, I do think that his argument has some merit. I also would love to get into a discussion with him about it.

He is hands-down my favorite sports writer. I am really pumped to pick up his book on Tuesday.

That's funny because I agree with what he said about Shaq. I think he is going to bring your team down. You will still win 55+ wins because of LBJ but I think adding him made you worse.

That's funny, because I think he is spot-on in regards to Detroit and Joe Dumars.

Cavs fans would.

quote:

Originally posted by No Offense:

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Evil:
Personally, I love Bill Simmons. I think he's one of the best sports writers out there. It's just his opinion just like we all have. Doesn't mean anything. I think he is wrong on Joe being a GM and AI getting a raw deal and would love to debate with him about it.

Still, he is a fun guy to read.

Exactly. Do I think his take on the Shaq 100% right? No. However, I do think that his argument has some merit. I also would love to get into a discussion with him about it.

He is hands-down my favorite sports writer. I am really pumped to pick up his book on Tuesday.

He is not a sports writer. Well, not a journalist anyways. I used to be like you, really liked his stuff because it was different. After a couple of years, I noticed he kept making the same old stale jokes again and again and again. He peaked in 2004.

Then I stumbled across the web site www.sotsg.com (sonsofthesportsguy.com). It's a message board dedicated to all of his columns, podcasts, etc. Check it out. It's really quite amazing that a guy making that kind of loot can make so many factual errors in his writing. What's even more amazing is that his editor at the World Wide Leader doesn't catch them either.

Here is just one example of his butchery of the facts. In his ABA/NBA merger book excerpt (which is actually going to be printed on paper, not just bandied around on the internet where it can be edited instantaneously) he makes two stupid errors in the first paragraph.



Summer of 1976: The Merger
"This gets my Greatest Summer Ever vote: our two hundredth Independence Day, the release of Jaws, the Montreal Olympics, the fictional graduation of Randy "Pink" Floyd's class at Lee High School and the ABA-NBA merger in the span of three months?"



What's the errors? Jaws was released in 1975, and Randy Floyd's class wasn't graduating. They were the juniors who would be graduating in 1977. That's why they made a big deal on hazing the eighth graders who would be the incoming freshmen. Three of those five things actually happened in the summer of '76. So he's hitting facts at a 60% clip. Which will get you a D- in high school.

Now if you like recycled jokes about the Karate Kid, Teen Wolf, and Beverly Hills 90210, more power to you. My point is the guy is a hack. A hack who is a self-declared Celtics lover who obviously hates Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons. **** him.

Edit: Although we celebrated America's 200th anniversary in 1976, the Fourth of July that summer would have been our 201st Independence Day. So he's at 40%. That's a straight-up failing grade.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LongGun,

quote:

A hack who is a self-declared Celtics lover who obviously hates Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons

He's been incredibly critical of the Celtics in the last year or so. I just listened to a podcast with him and he called KG "Chris Webber 2.0."

He's a Celtics fan, but he's no homer. So what if he "hates" Detroit and Joe D? I don't think he does. He just doesn't like the moves he made. And to be honest, that's not an unwarranted criticism.

Where did I say that he gives the Celts a break? He just almost never writes anything positive about the Pistons. Think about it. His favorite team of all time is the Celtics. Larry Bird (who he calls the Basketball Jesus) had his dynasty end at the hands of the Pistons. He loves sticking it to Detroit, because the 1988 eastern semifinals loss probably made him cry back in the day.

All of that is okay. He's saying "**** the Detroit Pistons." And all I'm saying is "**** Bill Simmons, that lazy hack."

I mean come on, he lists five things about the Summer of '76 and three of them are inaccurate? That's ****ing lazy. A mixture of Google and common sense eliminates those mistakes. Just pathetically lazy 'work' from a guy who makes a ridiculous amount of money.

Hey, I used to be a fan of his. If you still want to be one, go ahead. It doesn't change the fact that this guy has been in decline for years. He's a joke.

As a writer myself, I know how important accuracy is in your writing. It's completely mortifying to make a mistake, especially ones that are easily checked.

quote:

Bill Simmons

After listing to BS on the radio a couple times I couldn't believe he was considered a knowledgeable NBA guy. He was saying some very dumb things, especially when talking about possible NBA trades. The guy he was interviewing had to keep correcting him and explaining how some of the trades he was considering were impossible. I don't take what he says seriously.