What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Grantland.com (2 Viewers)

pollardsvision

Footballguy
Anybody heard of this?

It'll be Simmons run and ESPN/Disney owned. Hopefully, it'll be good. It would be great if it meant that Simmons is giving up on his stupid podcasts and dusting off his laptop from time to time. Though, it probably just means he'll be doing even less writing and spending more time running this site.

He's released 2 preview articles (by other authors who'll be contributing):

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=110502/preview/molly-lambert-on-2011-summer-movie-preview

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=110502/preview/katie-baker-on-the-new-york-knicks

 
I enjoy the podcasts. Well once NFL is over I pretty much don't follow him until around now. I'm not a basketball fan so I guess I enjoy him since it's in spurts :P

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I enjoy the podcasts. Well once NFL is over I prett much don't foolow him until around now. I'm not a basketball fan so I guess I enjoy him since it's in spurts :P
I don't hate the podcasts. I just like his writing much better and wish he'd do it more. He's writing fewer columns and making (I assume) more money, so I don't expect the trend to ever reverse itself.
 
Looking forward to this. It took me a long time to come around on the podcasts, but I think I like them more than his columns now.

 
His writing has been in decline for several years now - pretty much coinciding with his increased podcast work.

 
Not a huge fan of what I've read so far. I think he's carving out a weird niche that isn't sufficiently narrow or broad. It's narrower than Slate or Salon who do news, art, pop culture and sports. But it's broader than ESPN or Television Without Pity or whatever.

It seems to me that Simmons is building an editorial platform to simply allow him to write about Jersey Shore instead of the New Jersey Nets whenever he wants to.

 
Contrary to what Simmons believes, his problem at espn.com isn't too much editorial oversight, it's too little. I think the attraction for him of the new site is that he'll be able to do what he wants to do with less filtering.

If those two articles are any indication, he should be careful what he wishes for. The Knicks story - which appeared to be several thousand words of some writer just riffing about their personal feelings on the team - was impenetrable. The movie review story was boring and went on forever.

 
If those two articles are any indication, he should be careful what he wishes for. The Knicks story - which appeared to be several thousand words of some writer just riffing about their personal feelings on the team - was impenetrable. The movie review story was boring and went on forever.
Grantland Rice rolling over in his grave.
 
I enjoy Simmons' articles and podcasts, but I'm not sure why I should be interested in this or who the target audience is. I'm either not familiar with, or not a fan of, most of the writers he has signed up for the project, and the sample articles aren't doing anything to pique my interest.

 
Contrary to what Simmons believes, his problem at espn.com isn't too much editorial oversight, it's too little. I think the attraction for him of the new site is that he'll be able to do what he wants to do with less filtering.If those two articles are any indication, he should be careful what he wishes for. The Knicks story - which appeared to be several thousand words of some writer just riffing about their personal feelings on the team - was impenetrable. The movie review story was boring and went on forever.
Well put. Similarily, the most uninteresting and longwinded columns of Simmons are always the 10,000 word blocks reminiscing about his childhood watching the Celtics. He can be entertaining but sometimes falls into complete rambling self-absorbtion and it's just not much fun to read. That's how I felt trying to read the Knicks piece and just gave up about a third of the way in. It went on forever.
 
I think Simmons' ego has gotten too big for him. He's been rubbing shoulders with so many celebrities now that he thinks he has more cache than he has. I don't think he realizes that most of his readers/listeners really do like him for his sports stuff, not the other garbage. Which means he's enough to be a niche at ESPN (a considerably sized one, but a niche all the same), but not big enough to be his own brand.

 
I think Simmons' ego has gotten too big for him. He's been rubbing shoulders with so many celebrities now that he thinks he has more cache than he has. I don't think he realizes that most of his readers/listeners really do like him for his sports stuff, not the other garbage. Which means he's enough to be a niche at ESPN (a considerably sized one, but a niche all the same), but not big enough to be his own brand.
I agree to an extent. However, I think Simmons IS big enough to be his own brand. The problem is that Simmons does not realize that his "brand" is limited to sports, gambling, action movies and reality TV. His brand does not include longwinded prose in the style of 1930s sportswriters. As much as he likes to think that he's Chuck Klosterman, he's not. And he never will be.
 
Contrary to what Simmons believes, his problem at espn.com isn't too much editorial oversight, it's too little. I think the attraction for him of the new site is that he'll be able to do what he wants to do with less filtering.If those two articles are any indication, he should be careful what he wishes for. The Knicks story - which appeared to be several thousand words of some writer just riffing about their personal feelings on the team - was impenetrable. The movie review story was boring and went on forever.
Well put. Similarily, the most uninteresting and longwinded columns of Simmons are always the 10,000 word blocks reminiscing about his childhood watching the Celtics. He can be entertaining but sometimes falls into complete rambling self-absorbtion and it's just not much fun to read. That's how I felt trying to read the Knicks piece and just gave up about a third of the way in. It went on forever.
Typical Katie Baker article.
 
Looking forward to seeing what he does with Chuck Klosterman and Bill Barnwell more than these overrated female writers. Apparently he has plans for a 'podcast network'

More on his plans here:

Bill Simmons’ new site will be entertaining, well-written, funny and provocative. Its development is driven by Bill’s vision to provide fans a place to spend time, read, and think.

The graphic style of the site, designed by renowned magazine designer Walter Bernard, will be simple and elegant, in order to set it apart from the daily rush of sports news.

The site will host Bill’s columns and podcasts, but unlike Page 2, it will not be based on the sports events of the day or the current sports calendar.

In addition to Bill’s works, the site will include columns and essays about sports and pop culture from leading journalists.

Bill is building a team of lesser-known, talented young writers and editors to capture new voices and commentary on sports and pop culture.

We anticipate some edgy topics and writing, but such content will remain the exception.

About 70 percent sports, 30 percent pop culture, with less video than other ESPN sites.

Bill sees the site functioning with limited fan interaction, including a selection of about 300 fans with exclusive access to comment on the site and interact with contributors

 
20 minutes til launch. I have zero expectations, so I'm interested to see layout and content that will be up today. How often will it be updated? Is this a daily view, or multiple times a day.

:popcorn:

 
The layout is understated and easy to follow. It looks a lot like a blog but without the dozens of links and ads.

Reading the Chuck Klosterman story now. Good stuff. :thumbup:

 
The layout is understated and easy to follow. It looks a lot like a blog but without the dozens of links and ads.Reading the Chuck Klosterman story now. Good stuff. :thumbup:
Looks like Klosterman's and Jacoby's reality fantasy draft are the only articles besides Simmons' welcome.
 
I think Simmons' ego has gotten too big for him. He's been rubbing shoulders with so many celebrities now that he thinks he has more cache than he has. I don't think he realizes that most of his readers/listeners really do like him for his sports stuff, not the other garbage.
That's a pretty cynical take. Maybe the guy just wants to branch out to things that interest him other than sports. Not everyone wants to do the same thing throughout their entire career.
 
Simmons' welcome to Grantland column was very good, rooting for him big time!
:goodposting: Simmons gets a lot of backlash now that he is huge - but I still enjoy reading him. I love when he has new columns out. I'm definitely looking forward to this site.
 
like it. I'm curious if the BS Report podcasts stay on ESPN or if it morphs into a Grantland series with different hosts.

 
Bill sees the site functioning with limited fan interaction, including a selection of about 300 fans with exclusive access to comment on the site and interact with contributors
What is up with hand selecting a group of "fans" to "interact" with?
 
Surprised so many are lukewarm on the podcasts. I think they are terrific. The sports discussions are always on point and the interviews with various comedians all deliver. Norm McDonald one was hilarious.

"Grantland" is a fine name. All that matters is that people can remember and spell it.

I normally enjoy Simmons' columns as well because they are like reading "US Weekly" for sports/pop culture. I rarely read columns like Rick Reilly's which is the role I see Klosterman filling. Hopefully Klosterman will do expose's on athletes/celebs rather then cotton-candy articles like the first column he posted. I'm not interested in an underdog story about a high school game in N. Dakota. I rarely will read a column like that. They are like watching Extreme Home Makeover.

 
I like the articles that are up now. :shrug: The baseball writer's article was nice - his deadpanning (the deer, Francona) is my kind of humor.

I hope SImmons remembers that he launched this to be a writer. It seems like it would be easy to get lost in being a manager/editor.

 
Bill sees the site functioning with limited fan interaction, including a selection of about 300 fans with exclusive access to comment on the site and interact with contributors
What is up with hand selecting a group of "fans" to "interact" with?
My guess is to censor the comments/reaction while giving the appearances of interaction. There are millions upon millions of people who hate Simmons intensely and would saturate anything associated with him with vicious remarks.
 
Bill sees the site functioning with limited fan interaction, including a selection of about 300 fans with exclusive access to comment on the site and interact with contributors
What is up with hand selecting a group of "fans" to "interact" with?
My guess is to censor the comments/reaction while giving the appearances of interaction. There are millions upon millions of people who hate Simmons intensely and would saturate anything associated with him with vicious remarks.
That detail (limited fan interaction) turned out to be inaccurately reported at the onset. It was shot down pretty quickly.
 
Really like what I see so far. Huge fan of his podcasts, and this looks like it will be along the same style.

 
The layout is understated and easy to follow. It looks a lot like a blog but without the dozens of links and ads.Reading the Chuck Klosterman story now. Good stuff. :thumbup:
I just read the Klosterman story. I like his writing in general and definitely enjoyed that story.
 
I like the idea, in theory, of more in-depth writing. Who knows how it will work out. The Klosterman story was good.

I also find Deadspin's fascination with this (and ESPN in general, even though they're often terrible) to be a little sad.

 
I think Simmons' ego has gotten too big for him. He's been rubbing shoulders with so many celebrities now that he thinks he has more cache than he has. I don't think he realizes that most of his readers/listeners really do like him for his sports stuff, not the other garbage. Which means he's enough to be a niche at ESPN (a considerably sized one, but a niche all the same), but not big enough to be his own brand.
I think this is correct.It wasn't until I heard his voice that I realized how big his head is. I find him entertaining and insightful, but not earth-moving. He's always complained about ESPN and not having enough freedom as a big shot. I guess we'll find out just how big he is. I predict this will be a humbling experience for him, but I've been wrong about him before.
 
I also find Deadspin [...] to be a little sad.
Deadspin has done some cools things, like expose the Brett Favre story or stand up for the little guy, but most of the time it's just a bunch of people throwing rocks at the establishment...which is cool I guess, because everyone hates ESPN now...
 
I think Simmons' ego has gotten too big for him. He's been rubbing shoulders with so many celebrities now that he thinks he has more cache than he has. I don't think he realizes that most of his readers/listeners really do like him for his sports stuff, not the other garbage. Which means he's enough to be a niche at ESPN (a considerably sized one, but a niche all the same), but not big enough to be his own brand.
I think this is correct.It wasn't until I heard his voice that I realized how big his head is. I find him entertaining and insightful, but not earth-moving. He's always complained about ESPN and not having enough freedom as a big shot. I guess we'll find out just how big he is. I predict this will be a humbling experience for him, but I've been wrong about him before.
go on...
 
I also find Deadspin [...] to be a little sad.
Deadspin has done some cools things, like expose the Brett Favre story or stand up for the little guy, but most of the time it's just a bunch of people throwing rocks at the establishment...which is cool I guess, because everyone hates ESPN now...
The Favre thing was tabloid nonsense. What value did that story have? Athletes send pictures of their weiner to chicks all the time. I don't find it interesting.
 
I like the idea and what little of the content I've read so far.

However, anyone who writes about sports and pop culture and overuses footnotes in the process is begging to be compared to David Foster Wallace. And Simmons is not going to fare well in that comparison. He should probably nip that footnoting stuff in the bud ASAP.

 
I like the idea and what little of the content I've read so far.However, anyone who writes about sports and pop culture and overuses footnotes in the process is begging to be compared to David Foster Wallace. And Simmons is not going to fare well in that comparison. He should probably nip that footnoting stuff in the bud ASAP.
They should just call footnotes "Wallaces."
 
I like the idea and what little of the content I've read so far.However, anyone who writes about sports and pop culture and overuses footnotes in the process is begging to be compared to David Foster Wallace. And Simmons is not going to fare well in that comparison. He should probably nip that footnoting stuff in the bud ASAP.
They should just call footnotes "Wallaces."
It actually reminds me a LOT of McSweeneys, which is Dave Egger's site. Ironically, he used a ton of footnotes like that in "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."
 
I like the idea and what little of the content I've read so far.However, anyone who writes about sports and pop culture and overuses footnotes in the process is begging to be compared to David Foster Wallace. And Simmons is not going to fare well in that comparison. He should probably nip that footnoting stuff in the bud ASAP.
They should just call footnotes "Wallaces."
It actually reminds me a LOT of McSweeneys, which is Dave Egger's site. Ironically, he used a ton of footnotes like that in "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."
Man, I like that style of lay-out, but Eggers puts me to sleep.
 
Does anybody read deadspin regularly? Seems completely pointless. I avoid it purely based on how bad their logo is.

 
I think Simmons' ego has gotten too big for him. He's been rubbing shoulders with so many celebrities now that he thinks he has more cache than he has. I don't think he realizes that most of his readers/listeners really do like him for his sports stuff, not the other garbage. Which means he's enough to be a niche at ESPN (a considerably sized one, but a niche all the same), but not big enough to be his own brand.
I think this is correct.It wasn't until I heard his voice that I realized how big his head is. I find him entertaining and insightful, but not earth-moving. He's always complained about ESPN and not having enough freedom as a big shot. I guess we'll find out just how big he is. I predict this will be a humbling experience for him, but I've been wrong about him before.
The crazy thing is that he CAN actually be a phenomenal writer. The two best things I've ever read on a sports site were his articles about the high school football player in LA that got killed and the article he wrote when his dog died. They weren't just good sports articles, they were great pieces of writing in general. When he does serious stuff, he really is a good writer.I couldn't just care less about most of the antics of him and his friends and I definitely couldn't care less about the vast majority of the pop culture stuff.
 
The crazy thing is that he CAN actually be a phenomenal writer. The two best things I've ever read on a sports site were his articles about the high school football player in LA that got killed and the article he wrote when his dog died. They weren't just good sports articles, they were great pieces of writing in general. When he does serious stuff, he really is a good writer.
links?
 
The crazy thing is that he CAN actually be a phenomenal writer. The two best things I've ever read on a sports site were his articles about the high school football player in LA that got killed and the article he wrote when his dog died. They weren't just good sports articles, they were great pieces of writing in general. When he does serious stuff, he really is a good writer.
links?
Here's the one about the high school kid.http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080312Here's the one about his dog:http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090122After re-reading the one about his dog, it's not QUITE as good as I remember it, but still very good if you've ever owned a dog.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Does anybody read deadspin regularly? Seems completely pointless. I avoid it purely based on how bad their logo is.
Deadspin was a good site about 3-4 years ago. Will Leitch was/is a good writer, but Deadspin changed its focus to more of a gossip site after he left. Clay Travis joined Deadspin shortly after Leitch left, and he is also a good writer, but he got spit out there pretty fast because he did not fit the direction that they wanted to go with the site.
 
Does anybody read deadspin regularly? Seems completely pointless. I avoid it purely based on how bad their logo is.
Deadspin was a good site about 3-4 years ago. Will Leitch was/is a good writer, but Deadspin changed its focus to more of a gossip site after he left. Clay Travis joined Deadspin shortly after Leitch left, and he is also a good writer, but he got spit out there pretty fast because he did not fit the direction that they wanted to go with the site.
Yeah, I agree with this. The Favre thing and the Sanchez thing really didn't seem to serve any purpose to me. Especially the Sanchez thing. It just seemed like it was airing out someone's dirty laundry for the sake of doing so. Tawdry!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top