Bill Simmons

[NOTKyle]

I can't help but read every single one of the sports guys articles, but I know alot of people shit on him.

SO WTF

[Phil Theehor]

I have read them all for seven years. He irritates me now a lot more than he used to, but he is still usually worth reading.

[Fletch]

I have read them all for seven years. He irritates me now a lot more than he used to, but he is still usually worth reading.

Same here. I still find some of his stuff pretty funny, but some is just annoying.

[Morfin]

I find him to be the epitome of all that is bad about sports journalism. Maybe it's just because I am supremely envious that the guy can make that much money writing supremely-inane, high school-level, columns geared toward people with little or no intelligence -- about sports or anything. Simmons is to good writing what the National Enquirer is to the New York Times. Yes, green with envy.

[bones12]

Some of his articles are so relateable (his recent fantasy article, and most of his Vegas articles), I almost wonder if he is a member of my group of friends writing under an alias. That said, he's such a homer, sometimes it's impossible to enjoy his articles. So, some of his stuff is fantastic, other stuff, not so much.

[Fletch]

I find him to be the epitome of all that is bad about sports journalism. Maybe it's just because I am supremely envious that the guy can make that much money writing supremely-inane, high school-level, columns geared toward people with little or no intelligence -- about sports or anything. Simmons is to good writing what the National Enquirer is to the New York Times. Yes, green with envy.

Isn't that kind of the point with his articles, and all of Page 2(or whatever it's called now on EPSN.com)? You know what you're getting when you open up one of his articles. It's not really the place to go for serious sports writing.

[Morfin]

Yes, I am a curmudgeon. I find the dumbing down of Page 2 to be insulting. I don't go there.

[Phil Theehor]

What is refreshing about him is what's annoying about him. Morfin's point that he's not a serious sportswriter is dead-on. He writes not in the voice of a Deford, but in the voice of an uber-passionate, goofy fan.

I should temper my response by mentioning that probably 50% of his columns focus on my teams. That's one of the reasons I always read him. Were it not that way, were he NY Sports Guy or Chicago Sports Guy, I would have never started reading him. I can see where non-Boston fans would find him worthless.

[TheImpossibleMan]

I read some of his NFL posts and his list posts like 'Top 50 NBA players in terms of trade value' but I haven't read him on anything even close to a regular basis in two years and now tend to skip 50% of his articles due to his blathering about TV shows, the 1980's Celtics and pro wrestling. The worst thing that ever happened to him was his teams winning, as he became a conceited, entitled fan.

[marquis]

I used to read the "Daily Quickie" religiously, but since then I haven't read a thing this guys has written, and I won't. He is a total homer and a dolt.

[Lone Wolf]

I like Simmons for his Patriots stuff as well as his fantasy stuff and his lists. His running diaries can be pretty entertaining as well.

I think he would be more entertaining if he were an independent of some kind. I'd really like to hear him make fun of ESPN.

I'm glad he took the summer off, I think he was becoming over exposed

[ADD]

I'd rather read Jay Mariotti. And I loathe Jay Mariotti as a writer and a human being.

[Hawk the Slayer]

I still read Simmons, but his older stuff is much better. Strange - even though I'm married with 3 kids, I think his "single guy" columns were much better than the "married guy with kids" columns. The whole thing with Simmons is that he reads just like you're talking with co-workers around the water cooler. Some people like that, some don't. I could do without all the catchphrases he's been using for 7+ years (i.e., "I will now light myself on fire", "good times", "juvenation", etc), but I'm not looking for a highbrow analysis of sports theory when I hit the internet. His smart-ass attitude sounds pretty much like I do when I'm busting someone's chops for being a complete homer and not realizing that the Cards' front office sucks, or for insisting that "Point Break" is one of the most entertaining movies of all time (for sheer comedy value alone). Where he falls down is when he tries to get too preachy/moralistic, basically anytime he tries to do a "serious" column. If he just stuck to the lightweight, sarcastic angle, that'd be fine with me.

[Lone Wolf]

Bill Simmons put up a great Manny colum today. It makes sense that he would probably put up the best Manny colum I have ever read

[Ace Rockola]

I listen to his podcasts. He is a huge homer which gets annoying a lot. I like to listen to his Super Bowl prediction episode with Aaron Schatz for comedic purposes. They were so arrogant about the Pats winning, they never even thought the Giants had a chance of winning.

[Pharon]

Bill Simmons put up a great Manny colum today. It makes sense that he would probably put up the best Manny colum I have ever read
Yes, excellent column. Here it is if anyone wants to read it:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=manny

[Da Raider]

He can be very funny and entertaining but he is the ultimate homer and I start skipping paragraphs when he starts talking about The Real World and whatever other chick/homo tv programming he watches.

[hooshies]

I'm in the same boat as a lot of others: I really like his stuff, but he's so much of a homer that it gets quite obnoxious.

My biggest complaint about him is that he'll write a homer article, and he'll do one of two things: a) he'll preface the article by trying to pass it as a legit, objective analysis, eventhough he knows it's bs, or 2) he'll write a second article just to try to prove how his first one was objective and not biased.

He's definitely fun to read though

[Menace2Sobriety]

Great writer, completely biased fan's voice. You know what you're getting, and I like reading the longer emotional pieces from a guy who clearly cares too much about sports.
I could do without the 'hilarious' shots at the best baseball and football players of this generation which completely undermine any rationality, but that's not really part of the appeal.