ESPN dropping Bill Simmons

[gts]

Here is the statement from John Skipper:

[I]

[ProfessorMurder]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2afndCQxG1qaay69o1_500.gif

So does ESPN retain Grantland, or does Simmons?

No more 30 for 30s?

[christian1923]

Espn needs to wipe out the whole nba team and start over. Please get Van Gundy off TV

[The_Pharcyde]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2afndCQxG1qaay69o1_500.gif

So does ESPN retain Grantland, or does Simmons?

No more 30 for 30s?


I think grantland is all ESPN, cause they employ all the other writers
Idk about the 30 for 30's... I would assume the same

[Suguru101]

What does this mean? He no longer works at Grantland? Does he just not haver a contract with ESPN? It seems like they are still going to support it.

I hope Bill doesn't take his people with him from Grantland (Lowe, Barnwell, Greenwald, Jalen).

Grant land would drop heavily if that happened.

[ProfessorMurder]

I think grantland is all ESPN, cause they employ all the other writers
Idk about the 30 for 30's... I would assume the same

Yeah I just read another article, it says he may start a new site. So ESPN will presumably keep Grantland.

ESPN films is the production company on 30 for 30s, but Simmons is the EP and 'creator' if I remember right, and they hire people for each doc. So he might be able to keep that name.

[Mr. Jabbar]

let abbort be the next :applause:

[gts]

Yeah I just read another article, it says he may start a new site. So ESPN will presumably keep Grantland.

ESPN films is the production company on 30 for 30s, but Simmons is the EP and 'creator' if I remember right, and they hire people for each doc. So he might be able to keep that name.
Yeah ESPN owns Grantland they were the ones who put up the money for it originally. Simmons sold the idea ESPN gave the go ahead

30 for 30 will also stay with ESPN.

[SpecialQue]

Best news I've read in days. LOL at this piece of shit getting canned. :banana:

[Patrick Chewing]

ESPN is becoming unwatchable and has been shit for years. Was watching it last night and they had the broadcasters give their personal opinions on the Cavs half-time show skit and how it promotes domestic violence.


GTFO here ESPN. Stick to talking about Sports you pathetic ****ing channel you.

[Yoshi]

Espn needs to wipe out the whole nba team and start over. Please get Van Gundy off TV

Van Gundy is awesome. What are you talking about?

[Darius]

What's with the Bill Simmons hate? Sure he has some annoying things about him but he changed NBA media for the better.

Much rather have the new generation of guys he ushered in (Lowe, Haberstorh), Abbot) then a bunch of old fossilized players and bland local news people.

[Bobcats2013]

What's with the Bill Simmons hate? Sure he has some annoying things about him but he changed NBA media for the better.

Much rather have the new generation of guys he ushered in (Lowe, Haberstorh), Abbot) then a bunch of old fossilized players and bland local news people.

These dudes don't like white people who speak their minds

[christian1923]

Van Gundy is awesome. What are you talking about?
He's awful dude. Doesn't talk about the game and just babbles about irrelevant rule changes that will never happen... It could be a 90-90 game and he's ranting about some irrelevant shit

[christian1923]

ESPN is becoming unwatchable and has been shit for years. Was watching it last night and they had the broadcasters give their personal opinions on the Cavs half-time show skit and how it promotes domestic violence.


GTFO here ESPN. Stick to talking about Sports you pathetic ****ing channel you.
Or talk about something funny like How much women in San Antonio love churros:roll:

[salwan]

What's with the Bill Simmons hate? Sure he has some annoying things about him but he changed NBA media for the better.

Much rather have the new generation of guys he ushered in (Lowe, Haberstorh), Abbot) then a bunch of old fossilized players and bland local news people.

This.

Espn should have started with sacking attention seekers and boring people and get as many zach lowes as possible, who have at least a basic understanding of the game.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Good work ESPN, alienating and now losing the single most influential writer probably in the history of your company. I'm sure they'll work to keep the core Grantland staff, guys like Lowe and Barnwell would be nearly impossible to replace.

You could see the writing on the wall with this one, ESPN has really been going down the shitter lately. Their NBA coverage is a complete abomination, especially when you see it next to TNT every week.

[StephHamann]

He's awful dude. Doesn't talk about the game and just babbles about irrelevant rule changes that will never happen... It could be a 90-90 game and he's ranting about some irrelevant shit

We need to change the free throw rule, it slows down the game... as Ray Allen hits the corner three to tie the game against the Spurs.... i don't pay 200 dollars to watch a center brick free throws.

Classic JVG

[Jailblazers7]

Expect Grantland to crumble when contracts run out. Simmons has a huge following an loyalty from his staff. Unless ESPN starts throwing around some serious money the quality will inevitably drop. A large reason their site is so successful is due to the pop culture writing and I'm not sure why the writers would stay given the variety of options they have to select from.

They might be able to keep their sports writers but those are not going to drive new traffic for ESPN for the most part.

[ArbitraryWater]

http://i.gyazo.com/cdeb3bcb93aa4142934428487136e919.png

[Chadwin]

We need to change the free throw rule, it slows down the game... as Ray Allen hits the corner three to tie the game against the Spurs.... i don't pay 200 dollars to watch a center brick free throws.

Classic JVG

:roll: spot on

I love van gundy/breen but am not a fan of TNTs commentators except for Harlan

But Kenny, Ernie, Charles and Shaq>espn's studio guys

[Lensanity]

ESPN is terrible. Bill needs something better.

[MP.Trey]

ESPN being ESPN. Time to unfollow Grantland.

[DukeDelonte13]

Simmons is a wiener. He's good at stirring up the pot and creating drama.

[Clyde]

I like Simmons at the draft....hopefully he isn't replaced with Tom Tolbert.

[IMObjective]

http://i.gyazo.com/cdeb3bcb93aa4142934428487136e919.png
:oldlol: nice. I thought it was for real.

[ImKobe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoV5u2WWJs

"I TOLD YOU BILL!!!"

[TheMarkMadsen]

he's so incredibly biased that I can't say i'll be sad when he leaves

[Legends66NBA7]

**** ESPN and Bill Simmons.

[MiseryCityTexas]

Everyone in social media wanted him gone for the longest. it was bound to happen anyway.

[MiseryCityTexas]

I like Simmons at the draft....hopefully he isn't replaced with Tom Tolbert.

Tom Tolbert was GOAT when it came to ethering Bill Walton during arguments.

[L8krH8tr]

New Englands guys are arrogants, biased racists. Simmons is a prick

[Optimus Prime]

Blatant annoying Boston homerism aside, I liked Bill Simmons. He knows his stuff, and can be pretty funny when he's not rambling on and on about Boston sports.

Grantland has some quality writers, such as Zach Lowe, who is amazing. I hope they don't go away.

ESPN's basketball coverage >>> TNT's and it's not even close. Other than EJ, TNT's crew is just a bunch of clowns trying to act the fool all the time. Their broadcasting teams are literally the worst. Chris Webber :facepalm Steve Smith :facepalm Didn't they also have Greg Anthony at one time? :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm Reggie was only funny when he was playing off of Steve Kerr and Marv. TNT was only bearable before Shaq came aboard and they had Marv and Steve Kerr doing games.

Meanwhile, ESPN has Hubie :bowdown: JVG :bowdown: Doug Collins :bowdown: and Mike Breen and Mike Tirico, who are totally professional. Sure, they have goons like Jalen Rose and Mark Jackson, but overall, the quality and professionalism with ESPN's basketball coverage is so much better than TNT's. I usually watch TNT games with the TV muted.

:kobe:

PS - Simmons is still there until September when his contract expires.

[gts]

Simmons was asking for 6 million per year. double his current rate

here's a business insider article from last year talking about his value to ESPN at 3 million per year...

http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-and-fivethirtyeight-traffic-2014-10

[tomtucker]

Espn needs to wipe out the whole nba team and start over. Please get Van Gundy off TV
:applause: damm right....mike breen needs to go too, as well as the living dead aka hubie brown

[Optimus Prime]

Just stop. Hubie is the GOAT and Mike Breen is more professional than anyone at TNT and it's not even close.

http://thekevinburkeproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/hubiebrown.jpg

[tomtucker]

He's awful dude. Doesn't talk about the game and just babbles about irrelevant rule changes that will never happen... It could be a 90-90 game and he's ranting about some irrelevant shit

exactly.......fukk gundy and all espn

[MiseryCityTexas]

Hell yeah Hubie Brown is a great commentator. Amyone who disagrees was probably born in the 90s and don't know any better.

[BlackWhiteGreen]

New Englands guys are arrogants, biased racists. Simmons is a prick

Racists? Like making sweeping statements about groups of people who happen to live together?

[TheMan]

TNT studio guys > ESPN studio guys
I like Jalen and Doug but compared to TNT's crew, they're like listening to a funeral eulogy, I like TNT's humor, it's basketball we're watching, it's entertainment, not a matter of life or death.

TNT commentators = ESPN commentators
ESPN has more quality in this department but my fave commentator is Marv. I dislike Tirico, Van Gundy is amusing, Breen is good, so is Harlan. MJackson sucks, RMiller is ok, CWebb is good. Hubie is a legendary hoops mind..."there ya go big fella" :applause:

[T_L_P]

TNT studio guys > ESPN studio guys
I like Jalen and Doug but compared to TNT's crew, they're like listening to a funeral eulogy, I like TNT's humor, it's basketball we're watching, it's entertainment, not a matter of life or death.

TNT commentators = ESPN commentators
ESPN has more quality in this department but my fave commentator is Marv. I dislike Tirico, Van Gundy is amusing, Breen is good, so is Harlan. MJackson sucks, RMiller is ok, CWebb is good. Hubie is a legendary hoops mind..."there ya go big fella" :applause:

JVG kills everyone imo. He's a strong basketball mind and he's actually funny.

Some of the TNT guys are alright (though Reggie is terrible) but they are all incredibly repetitive. They repeat the same 4 or 5 lines all game.

[Optimus Prime]

When the TNT studio guys aren't clowing around acting the fool, they can be quite good. Problem is, especially since Shaq arrived, they are pretty much always acting like fools. :facepalm

Jalen is awful (but he has a few gems every now and then), but Collins is great, and then of course there is Sage Steele. :applause:

The TNT broadcast crew is abysmal. Marv/Kerr/Reggie was the only good team, but without Kerr, Reggie is exposed as rather terrible. Hubie > anything TNT has to offer, and that's not even counting JVG, Breen and Tirico. ESPN is solid, while I find TNT's crew to be juvenile and irritating.

[Timmy D for MVP]

I mean... bummer if this means the end of the Grantland era.

But one silver lining is the return of the Draft Diaries since he presumably won't be covering them anymore. Unless another network snatches him up.

[T_L_P]

When the TNT studio guys aren't clowing around acting the fool, they can be quite good. Problem is, especially since Shaq arrived, they are pretty much always acting like fools. :facepalm

Jalen is awful (but he has a few gems every now and then), but Collins is great, and then of course there is Sage Steele. :applause:

The TNT broadcast crew is abysmal. Marv/Kerr/Reggie was the only good team, but without Kerr, Reggie is exposed as rather terrible. Hubie > anything TNT has to offer, and that's not even counting JVG, Breen and Tirico. ESPN is solid, while I find TNT's crew to be juvenile and irritating.

That avatar though. :applause:

[DeuceWallaces]

Simmons was asking for 6 million per year. double his current rate

here's a business insider article from last year talking about his value to ESPN at 3 million per year...

http://www.businessinsider.com/grantland-and-fivethirtyeight-traffic-2014-10

That doesn't mean shit. They pay Screamin A 3 mil. He's a ****ing moron who condones domestic violence. ESPN already sucks but this nails it. He may be a homer and somewhat douchey, but he's self aware and admits it. At least his allegiances are front and center unlike half the talent ESPN trots out there, and when he wants to be, he's an excellent and entertaining writer.

Nothing like a fair take from Bill Polian and Jeff Saturday on Ballghazi.

[bdreason]

He should move to TNT/NBATV, or maybe pitch Fox on an NBA show. Does FOX even have an NBA show?

[navy]

Im not mad at them letting him go because he got greedy. That's the business.
Had it been because of something he said, despite the fact that I dont like him I would have had a problem.

[gts]

He should move to TNT/NBATV, or maybe pitch Fox on an NBA show. Does FOX even have an NBA show?I can see him ending up on Fox...

His strengths though are writing.. He's made some money, he might just stick to the web and such

[kennethgriffin]

Simmons mocked his own idol larry bird when he picked kobe over lebron as a possible team mate

"Reeeaaaallllyyyyy!?!?!?!?! Grrrrrr!!!!!" Lmfao

[ZeN]

Simmons mocked his own idol larry bird when he picked kobe over lebron as a possible team mate

"Reeeaaaallllyyyyy!?!?!?!?! Grrrrrr!!!!!" Lmfao
Whats your point?

[edrick]

Dude wanted 6 million a year to talk nonsense. They have plenty of morons like SAS and Bayless that get paid to talk nonsense for half of that. So he got dropped.

[Meticode]

This sucks. Grantland has become enjoyable. Especially when they do the NBA Team Previews with Jalen Rose during the preseason. Even with his homer-ism, at least he was upfront about it and that was part of his personality that he embraced. I liked it when he would say controversial things.

[Meticode]

The two most annoying people involved in the NBA right now are Chris Webber and Reggie Miller. Both of them play that homer former player card and Webber over explains himself. Also at times he becomes highly critical of one team versus another during the telecast.

Same goes for Reggie Miller for the most part. Both are just highly annoying. I'd rather want Barkley telecasting since he says some outlandish things that make you laugh.

[Jameerthefear]

That doesn't mean shit. They pay Screamin A 3 mil. He's a ****ing moron who condones domestic violence. ESPN already sucks but this nails it. He may be a homer and somewhat douchey, but he's self aware and admits it. At least his allegiances are front and center unlike half the talent ESPN trots out there, and when he wants to be, he's an excellent and entertaining writer.

Nothing like a fair take from Bill Polian and Jeff Saturday on Ballghazi.
BULLSHIT

[BarberSchool]

Espn needs to wipe out the whole nba team and start over. Please get Van Gundy off TVYour combination of Duke love and Van Gundy hate, makes me want to perform acts of violence upon you, with extreme prejudice.

[chips93]

The two most annoying people involved in the NBA right now are Chris Webber and Reggie Miller. Both of them play that homer former player card and Webber over explains himself. Also at times he becomes highly critical of one team versus another during the telecast.

Same goes for Reggie Miller for the most part. Both are just highly annoying. I'd rather want Barkley telecasting since he says some outlandish things that make you laugh.

reggie is annoying, but i love webber. he has real passion for the game and really gets loose on in the games.

[BarberSchool]

TNT better hire Simmons

[MiseryCityTexas]

He should move to TNT/NBATV, or maybe pitch Fox on an NBA show. Does FOX even have an NBA show?

Hell no. He wouldn't fit in at all.

[nzahir]

So grantland with jalen rose and who now? Or is grantland separate(i dont think it is)

[Optimus Prime]

It's likely he'll end up someplace, like Fox or TNT, though his real strength is writing and his TV presence is...mediocre to put it nicely.

:kobe:

[warriorfan]

Simmons is annoying he spends too much time on gossiping and stupid homer shit. He sucks and will not be missed.

[Joyner82reload]

It's amazing the hate Simmons gets. The sad thing is the majority of it is due to the fact he's such a huge supporter of his home town teams, then again the majority of the country don't like the Pats/Celtics/Sox

[warriorfan]

It's amazing the hate Simmons gets. The sad thing is the majority of it is due to the fact he's such a huge supporter of his home town teams, then again the majority of the country don't like the Pats/Celtics/Sox


When you are a basketball analyst/journalist you need to leave that homer shit at the door and be a professional. No one wants to hear that shit when they are looking to you for serious information. :hammerhead:

[Optimus Prime]

It's amazing the hate Simmons gets. The sad thing is the majority of it is due to the fact he's such a huge supporter of his home town teams, then again the majority of the country don't like the Pats/Celtics/Sox

Simmons is actually awesome when he's not rambling on and on with his Boston homer garbage. Which he does most of the time, unfortunately.

:kobe:

[Dresta]

I'm no fan of Simmons, but he's definitely got a whole lot more about him than 90% of the ESPN staff. Some of the drivel those people come out with... geez.

[Solid Snake]

They need to get Tom Tolbert back on the air. Kids probably don't remember him. I don't mean remember him as a player.

I mean as a commentator.

[outbreak]

They don't want anyone with a real opinion

[gts]

They don't want anyone with a real opinion
Not true at all. They wouldn't have entered into negotiations with him if that was how they felt

They just don't think his opinion is worth 6 million dollars a year :lol