Semi OT: Simmons kills it

Submitted by UMQuadz05 on

Has anyone read today's Bill Simmons column? 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100507&sportCat=nba

It's about the Suns, and also EPL soccer, but it instantly reminded me of the last 7 years against OSU.  It got me thinking about what crazy thing will happen that causes us to finally win the game.  A 99 yard DRob run?  Tate leading a last minute drive with multiple broken bones?  GERG thoroughly outcoaching and outsmarting Tressel?

 

Simmons takes a lot of crap nowadays, but when he's on, he's really fucking on he can still capture the emotional part of fandom better than anyone except Brian and Nick Hornby.

.ghost.

May 7th, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^

My opinion is probably pretty unpopular, but I don't think we gave the game away at all.  If Tressel needed to score against us again, I think he could have easily.  He just played it super-conservatively, which I suppose has been his calling card.

Tater

May 7th, 2010 at 11:48 AM ^

RR's pattern is to have a "quantum leap" year.  Since the spread has become umbiquitous in the last few years, thus negating the element of unfamiliarity, we may have to settle for continued gradual improvement, but I still have hope that the team will grossly "overachieve" this year. 

A large part of that would be beating OSU.  Tressel has benefitted from some very fortunate (for him) circumstances.  First, there was the deterioration of Lloyd Carr from elite coach to quaint artifact of a bygone era.  Then, there was the utter lack of a QB in 2008, followed by a lack of depth at QB in 2009.  Then, of course, there was the collapse of the defense. 

I could go on and on, but we all know that the 'aughts were the worst decade of UM football since the sixties.  Luckily, we have a new decade and a coach who has most of the pieces in place for Michigan to have a modern program.  Tressel is a decent coach, but any pretensions he has to greatness are much more a result of Michigan's troubles than anything he has really done.

When RR beats Tressel the first time, it will open up the floodgates.  I just don't see Tressel adjusting to the contemporary game well enough to beat RR on a regular basis once his personnel are in place.  Ironically, it was Tressel who gave Michigan their first wake-up call when he used spread formations for his pro-style offense against them in 2006.  Amazingly, though, Tressel has retreated back into the shell of his conservative offense.

Compared to Carr, Tressel was cutting edge.  Compared to RR, Tressel is in danger of becoming an anachronism.  Hopefully, his first signs of temporal imbalance appear this November.  Whatever the case, once that particular clock starts ticking, Tressel will probably begin his inexorable journey into obsolescence.  I just hope he stays long enough for Michigan to even their record against him.

Beavis

May 7th, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

That column was actually up yesterday.

So for people like me that read "Has anyone read today's Bill Simmons column?" and think "already a new column? awesome!", you have disappointed us.

That being said - yeah a good piece about being a fan.  No doubt it will all be much more sweet whenever our program returns to glory (regardless of who is coach) and we get the positive effect from the media (like the first four weeks of last year).

Voltron Blue

May 7th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^

Simmons' self-proclaimed shtick is having the viewpoint of the average fan.  He has specifically eschewed getting to the know the athletes, coaches, etc. because he doesn't want his fan-ship tainted by having to play politics with personalities, etc etc.  

But it sounds like he had inside access with Steve Kerr.   Is he softening / changing his stance?  Will be interesting to see going forward.

I know he had a running joke about getting hired as a real GM in the NBA.  After reading his Book on Basketball, I actually believe his chops...I think he could actually be an upper tier GM.  I wonder if he thinks so too and is starting to position himself as an NBA insider to potentially take that sort of career path at some point.

JeepinBen

May 7th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^

Loved the book of basketball, and I think that Simmons has taken an inside track with certain former players. I think he first met Kerr while Kerr was doing TV, not as a GM. He's tried to avoid being friends with current players, but i think former ones he's ok knowing

Kerr and Simmons talk a decent amount in TBOB, specifically in the Kaizer Soze chapter (which... come on, no way the '86 celtics were beating the '96 bulls... but I am from Chicago)

And I agree, Simmons could be a good GM... there sure are enough bad ones out there. 

Beavis

May 7th, 2010 at 1:20 PM ^

I think what you are describing is Simmons' angle he had as the "Boston Sports Guy".

Since he moved to LA that's changed.  Post writing for Kimmel = more humor in his columns.  LA atmosphere = more pop culture in his columns.  Being more famous = more connections in the industry.

So he's gone from average fan writing about what he sees to the "funny guy" who seamlessly merges two worlds (pop culture/sports, boston/LA, etc.) while building connections in sports and entertainment.

Voltron Blue

May 7th, 2010 at 3:58 PM ^

IMHO, his comedic peak was post-"Boston Sports Guy" but pre-Kimmel and move to LA.  I mean, if he wasn't funny pre-LA then Kimmel wouldn't have hired him.  So while I'm not sure it's quite delineated the way you describe, certainly the point is well taken that this has been an evolution over time.  I also forgot that he's close to Daryl Morey, the Rockets GM.

YakAttack

May 7th, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^

Now I can die in peace(ran across it at the dollar store, so the price was right), so I may be biased, but he is  one of the  "MSM" writers I look forward to reading on a regular basis.

Bird of War

May 7th, 2010 at 1:52 PM ^

I look forward to his annual NBA trade value article more than anything else on ESPN, or anywhere else on the web for that matter.  Dude really knows his hoops.  I'm currently reading TBOB and have nothing but great things to say about it (other than his obvious bias for Celtics in his HoF pyramid but that's to be expected.)

One thing I never understood...  Where does all the hatred for Simmons come from?  He seems to be one of the most talented and original sports writers out there IMHO.  I'd rather read his worst article over Rick Reilly's cheesiness.  God he's a hack at ESPN.

enlightenedbum

May 7th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^

1) He got there first and turned it into a major gig.

2) He's a better writer than most of the asshats who hate him.

3) (this one's legit) He's an obsessive homer, and while I don't mind it because... so am I, even if it's a different fandom.  I can understand some people being annoyed by it.

As for his increased reliance on inside knowledge and moving away from the pure fandom schtick that made him famous, it's not surprising.  He's got an increasing amount of power at ESPN (executive producer on 30 for 30, for example) and knows a lot of people and has a fairly sizable contract (that is probably going to get significantly more sizable sometime this year).  I don't care as long as he's insightful and writes well.  Which he still is.

Keep hoping the Bruins get sold so he writes about the NHL more though.

Musket Rebellion

May 7th, 2010 at 4:51 PM ^

If the Bruins close out the Flyers I'm sure there will be a column, or at least a blurb, about it in the near future. The Bruins are playing great hockey right now. If Detroit (sigh... longshot), Montreal, Boston and Chicago all made the semis the hockey euphoria would be too hard to ignore, even for Simmons.

wile_e8

May 7th, 2010 at 2:35 PM ^

One thing I never understood... Where does all the hatred for Simmons come from?
Everything that becomes popular is eventually followed by a backlash from people attempting to show their sophistication by proclaiming how they are above the supposed poor tastes of the commoners.

blue note

May 7th, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^

I've been reading Simmons since the day he came to espn, and I'll be the first to admit he's a talented writer, but his lack of perspective can be really grating because he's such a cocky self promoter -

For example, the whole Tiger Woods is facing a "tougher" comeback than Muhammed Ali did in 69.... I mean could you think of a more asinine statement for a sportswriter to make...

Pea-Tear Gryphon

May 7th, 2010 at 2:35 PM ^

He is one of the very few online guys I check up on to see when the new articles hit. The one thing I miss was the Links of the Week article (or whatever it was called). Great collection of random crap that he could put into a column. His intern quit (aka left to get a real job) and we haven't seen it since.

A real homer for his teams, but I think that only adds to his "I'm a fan writing about sports" credibility. I fear the day they (ESPN) make him jump the shark, but I hope it never comes. One of the few bright spots on the WWL.

tk47

May 7th, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^

Not trying to be a douche here, I'm really not -- I enjoy reading Simmons myself -- but I'm having a tough time getting all the way through this column.  I liked the first portion of it about watching the soccer game with Stein, but here are the spots where it breaks down for me:

  • The Suns are only up 2-0, and only in the 2nd round.  Not even halfway to a championship yet.  If they don't at least make the finals, isn't this whole article moot?  I feel like I'd be wasting my time reading it at this point.
  • What goes down DOES NOT necessarily have to come back up.  There have been Red Sox, White Sox, and Cubs fans who lived long, full lives and never saw a championship (living Cubs fans are STILL waiting).  The Rangers went 64 years between Stanley Cups, the Maple Leafs haven't won it since 1967 or something, and the Blackhawks are right there with them.  Notre Lame football has been trying to return to glory for 20 years.  The city of Cleveland has gone, what 55 years without ANY pro sports championships (although this makes me happy)?  The list goes on and on.

I understand that Simmons is trying to be encouraging to fans who have been down-and-out for a while, but just because his beloved Red Sox won a championship in an orgasmic turn of events does NOT mean the same thing happens to everybody else, and even if it does, you may have to wait a lot longer than you expected -- maybe even an eternity -- for it.

Again, not trying to be a douche, not trying to rain on anybody's parade, just trying to present a different viewpoint.  Maybe I'm just cranky today.