Deadspin: Sports Fella

Read Bill Simmons Before He Was The Sports Guy, From The Boston Phoenix Vault

Jack Dickey — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST

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The internet's not written in pencil, it's written in ink, or something. If you've spent your entire writing life online, it's likely that some Googlebot has crawled your pages, archiving every word you've ever written. But older writers who were young hacks shouldn't have to worry: their words were printed, not posted. More »

Dear Bill Simmons, The Helmet Catch Was Not Luck

Drew Magary — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:20:00 EDT

Drew Magary's Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday during the NFL season. Buy Drew's new book, The Postmortal, through here. Find more of his stuff at his Twitter feed. More »

Charles P. Pierce Takes His Red-Hot Career To Grantland

Tommy Craggs — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:40:13 EDT

Remember this (to which Bill Simmons responded thusly)? "In addition to leading Esquire's politics blog, Mr. Pierce will write a regular column for Grantland and contribute occasionally to The Triangle blog." Honestly, this is wonderful news. [Observer] More »

Yup, This Is Bill Simmons' Mustache

Jack Dickey — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:15:00 EDT

Simmons debuted the above fuzz while guest hosting Pardon the Interruption today. More »

Here Is The Giant Bill Simmons NYT Mag Profile You Were All Waiting For

Jack Dickey — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:05:00 EDT

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It's called "Can Bill Simmons Win the Big One?" and it's by The Bronx Is Burning author Jonathan Mahler. Never mind that his book was made into an ESPN miniseries and that's not disclosed in the piece. More »

Bill Simmons, Big Swinging Dick

A.J. Daulerio — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:45:10 EDT

Here's a fun passage from Those Guys Have All the Fun, addressing Bill Simmons's two-week suspension over his tweeting in 2009. More »

An Exclusive Interview With Tommy Craggs About The Bill Simmons "Grantland" Project

A.J. Daulerio — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:45:00 EDT

Approximately one month ago, Deadspin Senior Editor Tommy Craggs was approached by several fine folks involved in Bill Simmons' then unnamed editorial project, which we now know, thanks to Richard Deitsch's Twitter account, is called Grantland. ESPN issued a press release soon after that report and confirmed that Deitsch's hunch was correct and also revealed recent additions to its staff. But there's so much more to this story and it's about time our readers were let in on it. Please follow along closely, because the news about to be broken in the following paragraphs is both self-referential and tragically absurd. More »

Bill Simmons, Malcolm Gladwell, And The Dirty Secret Of The MIT Sports Analytics Conference

Jack Dickey — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:32:09 EST

The Joke That Started It All More »

Katie Baker Has Been Poached By Bill Simmons For His Forthcoming Editorial Project

A.J. Daulerio — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST

Our great friend and part-time contributor (even though everyone who worked here considered her full-time), has decided to leave the lush life of freelance writing while praying her day job co-workers at The Prominent Money Managing Vampire Squid would not find out its Katie Baker was the same as that Katie Baker. For Katie "Bakes" Baker is now a full-time sports writer. Yes, the Sports Fella has made the smartest decision of his career and hired Bakes for his new editorial project. More »

Police Called To Bill Simmons's Home For Burglary Only To Find Mighty Mighty Bosstone In Socks

DAULERIO (video by Tommy Craggs) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:45:22 EST

If not for a podcast of four lesser-known comedians, the world probably would have never heard about the absurd Keystone Coppery that went down during a recent football Sunday at the Sports Guy's manse. Follow along with the audio, courtesy Megaboom. More »

Bill Simmons And Tawwmy From Quinzee, Together At Last

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:45:07 EST

Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »

FreeDarko Also Scrubbed From Bill Simmons's Book

Tommy Craggs — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:45:18 EST

It seems Charlie Pierce wasn't the only critic to get thrown out of the Sports Fella's book. Or maybe there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this that has nothing whatsoever to do with this? [FreeDarko] More »

Deadspin Classic: Bill Simmons Is Not The Cosmos (The Book Of Basketball Reviewed)

Deadspin Classic | Charles P. Pierce — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:40:00 EST

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The paperback edition of Bill Simmons's Book of Basketball is now in stores, and reader Patrick Sauer points out one notable tweak to this version: Charles P. Pierce's name no longer appears anywhere in the text. You don't suppose it has anything to do with Pierce's review of the book, do you? More »

Get In The Sports Fella's Live Chat And Cause Some Trouble

David Matthews — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:45:00 EST

The Sports Fella's live-chat is happening right now, so try and slip a question by his zombie horde of screeners, gang. More »

How A Bill Simmons Tweet Ended Up With Randy Moss Being Traded

Drew Magary — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:45:00 EDT

Fear not. I'm not here to do any tiresome Simmons bashing. I'm just here to recap the rather zany events that led up to Randy Moss getting traded. More »

Studies Show Legs Aren't Supposed To Bend That Way

David Matthews — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EDT

Here's Video Of Bill Simmons Declaring His Intention To Urinate All Over An ESPN Studio, Or Something

David Matthews — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:15:00 EDT

The yuks keep coming with blinding speed as the Sports Fellas guest-hosting stint on PTI continues. One would assume that Tony's the incontinent one, being a cranky old asshole and all. More »

Here's A Video Of Tony Kornheiser Teaching Bill Simmons How To Wear A Tie

David Matthews — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:55:00 EDT

The Sports Fella's hosting PTI for the rest of the week, so it looks like we'll be watching PTI this week. There you go, indeed, Tony. H/T Trey Kerby. More »

The Bill Simmons Top Secret Editorial Project Is Underway

A.J. Daulerio — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:40:00 EDT

What is it? Nobody knows. Well, some people do, but since it's in its early developmental stages and most people don't want to step on the Sports Fella's dick while he staffs up and conceptualizes. More »

Bill Simmons Writes About Holdouts, Works Through Some Of His Own Issues

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:15:00 EDT

Today, Simmons wrote about the nature of contract disputes. Ostensibly it's about pro athletes holding out. But somewhere, deep in the Sports Guy's Sports Psyche, it very well may have been about him. More »

ESPN Actually Spoofs Itself With Bill Simmons's The Decision

David Matthews — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:30:00 EDT

The Sports Fella took to Beadle & Colin's Smile Time Shit-Sack Variety Hour yesterday to announce whether he would renew his season tickets to the Clippers in a parody of that LeBron thing. There's more self-criticism here than Ohlmeyer's last column. More »

Read Two Smart Fellows Completely Dismantle A Sports Guy Column

David Matthews — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EDT

Slate's Josh Levin and Tom Scocca had themselves a nice chat about Bill Simmons's latest, an NBA Finals Preview. Spoilers: They aren't fans. [Scocca] More »

ESPN Wins The Courtship Of Bill Simmons

Jason Fry — Sat, 15 May 2010 17:55:38 EDT

Bill Simmons is close to re-upping with ESPN, people familiar with the situation say, putting an end to speculation that he might head for a competitor or strike out on his own when his contract expires at year's end. More »

Olbermann Joins The Sports Fella Pile-On

Tommy Craggs — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:00:54 EST

On Simmons: "I am again left to marvel how somebody can rise to a fairly prominent media position with no discernible insight or talent, save for an apparent ability to mix up a vast bowl of word salad very quickly." More »

Sports Fella Doubles Down On The Stupid

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:30:41 EST

Remember that foolish thing Bill Simmons said the other day about Tiger and Muhammad Ali? Well, Bill has taken a step back, read some old Sports Illustrateds, and decided to be foolish again, only at much greater length. [Charles Pierce] More »

Sports Fella Leaves The Yard

Tommy Craggs — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:27:06 EST

OK, what in the name of Ho Chi Minh is Bill Simmons talking about here? Muhammad Ali and 'Nam? Tiger keeping his pecker out of the killing fields of Spearmint Rhino? What? More »

Dear Bill Simmons, Please Stop Feeling My Pain For Me

Drew Magary — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:30:56 EST

I know many of you find Simmons bashing a tiresome pursuit, so I will keep this as civil as I possibly can. More »

Former Late Night Talk Show Writer Reveals Insider News About Conan O'Brien

A.J. Daulerio — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:15:35 EST

"ESPN columnist Bill Simmons tweeted earlier this morning, "FYI: Next week is Conan's final week hosting the Tonight Show. His staff is trying to book big guests so he goes out with a bang. It's true." [MSNBC] More »

The Year In ... Sports Fella

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST

Just like last year, we're showcasing the people, ideas and memes that made Deadspin 2009 shine. Today: Bill Simmons. More »

Bill Simmons Sports Some Questionable New Facial Growth

A.J. Daulerio — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:45:48 EST

I've adopted this look a couple times this year. I dubbed it "The Spanish Armada." I love it. [Sports Fella Twitter] More »

An Angry Message For The Sports Fella, From The Star Of TV's Brooklyn Bridge

Tommy Craggs — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:15:55 EST

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Not long ago, Knicks fan Danny Lanzetta, the child lead in one of those pleasant 1990s-era CBS shows, sent Bill Simmons an e-mail debunking his Ewing Theory. Simmons ignored him. So Danny did the next best thing: He e-mailed us. More »

Sports Fella "Suspended" Over Angry Tweets, Not Allowed To Watch TV, Talk On Phone For Two Weeks

A.J. Daulerio — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:00:03 EST

Bill Simmons was suspended for letting his 1, 010, 999 Twitter followers know how he feels about about certain WEEI talk show hosts, but he's still able to talk about his book tour. Rob King, WWL.com's courageous editor, offers explanation. More »

Bill Simmons, Establishment

Will Leitch — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:36 EST

For those of who have seen his popularity swell into the stratosphere the last few years, it wasn't a surprise to see Bill Simmons atop the bestseller list. But it should have been. More »

Boston Herald Loves Hometown Sports Fella For His Zaniness

A.J. Daulerio — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:38:30 EST

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I guess Simmons is searching for the stock Reilly®-esque friendly choke-fight pose during this book tour to better showcase his personality. He calls this one "wacky lobster clawed stroke victim." [BH] More »

The Legitimate Interest In Simmons' GM Candidacy Called Into Question

A.J. Daulerio — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:15:09 EDT

The Sports Fella set Minnesotans' hearts aflutter with his semi-serious T'Wolves GM idea, resulting in thousands of pro-Simmons emails from a disillusioned fan base to a befuddled T'Wolves executive office. But somebody's rigging the numbers. More »

The Creative Impasse Between Bill Simmons and ESPN Appears To Be Over

A.J. Daulerio — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:30:28 EST

The rumor about Bill Simmons "quitting" his B.S. Report podcast on ESPN due to restrictive over-editing policies were apparently overblown, for today the B.S. Report has miraculously reappeared. The one noticeable change to it is the new pre-show disclaimer from the Sports Fella himself that states , "The BS report is a free-flowing conversation that occasionally touches on mature subjects." I'm assuming the "mature subjects" broached will come in the form of occasional profanity, sexual innuendo, or the inclusion of male porn stars in fantasy basketball leagues. Or maybe he's going to push it a little further and he'll start churning out the podcast equivalent of the Robin Byrd show. The possibilities are endless! Also, Cousin Sal added at the end of his segment that Simmons should "let everyone on Facebook know that everything is cool between you and your bosses." So congratulations to the Bill Simmons for fighting the good fight to attain the type of creative freedom enjoyed by... pretty much everyone who doesn't work for ESPN. UPDATE: It's not on ESPN.com yet — only in the iTunes store. More »