Simmons continues his attempt to redeem himself

[ma11l]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080605


I was actually planning on reading this book in the days leading up to the series, however there has just been so much going on and I couldn't find the time.  The quotes are hilarious, these two genuinely hated each other.  The media is glorifying Kobe (the turnaround has been good and can be completed with another ring), but let's not forget that this man was THE WORST TEAMMATE IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS for a few years. 

Leave it to the old sarcastic Sports Guy to bring this up on the day of the Finals.  Also he sucked up to us angry Boston fans by picking the Celts in 7.  I'm still not as big a fan as I used to be, but this article helps.

[Redz]

They had a pretty lengthy interview with him on WEEI this morning.  I'm not a fan of Dennis & Callahan, but I did enjoy them grilling him on flip-flopping.

[nickagneta]

OH MY GOD!!! YET ANOTHER BILL SIMMONS THREAD!!!!

Please make it stop, make it stop.

The guys opinion is useless and he is very rarely even entertaining anymore. Can we please dispense with the "Simmons wrote this so...." threads.

Please.

BTW, no offense ma11i nothing against you. You're the man in my book. Here's a TP for putting up with me!!

[bbc3341]

Simmons is a kind of pop culture reference, tongue in cheek Rain Man, he is an inside joke savant. That we don't always "get it" is part of the fun - yes I've googled or wikied some of his references! Sometimes his humor or intentionally ridiculous material goes over some heads. Let's put it this way, in EVERY Simmons column you get a healthy dose of hyperbole and exaggeration mixed in with obscure pop culture references and a lovably unhealthy obsession with Boston sports designed, at times, to ruffle feathers, it is what he does. He is a satirist at times and an entertainer always. He is not a reporter or a "serious" journalist a la Mr. Ryan. He is like the collective Id of Boston sporting fandom let loose with an overdose of irrelevant cultural knowledge!  In the words of Frank Drebin, "I love it!"

[ma11l]

OH MY GOD!!! YET ANOTHER BILL SIMMONS THREAD!!!!

Please make it stop, make it stop.

The guys opinion is useless and he is very rarely even entertaining anymore. Can we please dispense with the "Simmons wrote this so...." threads.

Please.

BTW, no offense ma11i nothing against you. You're the man in my book. Here's a TP for putting up with me!!

Haha completely understandable.  I honestly didn't read what he was saying as much as the quotes from the book.  I just thought they were some of the funniest things I've ever read.  It's amazing that these two are together and in the NBA Finals again.  If the Celts win a few games in a row I can see "Good Kobe" turning back to "Old, awful teammate Kobe."  That is the only way a man as immensely talented as him will hurt his team.

[nickagneta]

Simmons is a kind of pop culture reference, tongue in cheek Rain Man, he is an inside joke savant. That we don't always "get it" is part of the fun - yes I've googled or wikied some of his references! Sometimes his humor or intentionally ridiculous material goes over some heads. Let's put it this way, in EVERY Simmons column you get a healthy dose of hyperbole and exaggeration mixed in with obscure pop culture references and a lovably unhealthy obsession with Boston sports designed, at times, to ruffle feathers, it is what he does. He is a satirist at times and an entertainer always. He is not a reporter or a "serious" journalist a la Mr. Ryan. He is like the collective Id of Boston sporting fandom let loose with an overdose of irrelevant cultural knowledge!  In the words of Frank Drebin, "I love it!"

You're really Bill Simmons, aren't you? Or are you his agent or publisher?

[Pawtucket Pat]

Simmons is a kind of pop culture reference, tongue in cheek Rain Man, he is an inside joke savant. That we don't always "get it" is part of the fun - yes I've googled or wikied some of his references! Sometimes his humor or intentionally ridiculous material goes over some heads. Let's put it this way, in EVERY Simmons column you get a healthy dose of hyperbole and exaggeration mixed in with obscure pop culture references and a lovably unhealthy obsession with Boston sports designed, at times, to ruffle feathers, it is what he does. He is a satirist at times and an entertainer always. He is not a reporter or a "serious" journalist a la Mr. Ryan. He is like the collective Id of Boston sporting fandom let loose with an overdose of irrelevant cultural knowledge!  In the words of Frank Drebin, "I love it!"

You're really Bill Simmons, aren't you? Or are you his agent or publisher?

Simmons is the kind of guy I could picture coming online and posing as someone else and singing his own praises.

[pslakerfan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080605


I was actually planning on reading this book in the days leading up to the series, however there has just been so much going on and I couldn't find the time.  The quotes are hilarious, these two genuinely hated each other.  The media is glorifying Kobe (the turnaround has been good and can be completed with another ring), but let's not forget that this man was THE WORST TEAMMATE IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS for a few years. 

Leave it to the old sarcastic Sports Guy to bring this up on the day of the Finals.  Also he sucked up to us angry Boston fans by picking the Celts in 7.  I'm still not as big a fan as I used to be, but this article helps.

The worst teammate in the history of sports???  Are you serious?  THAT IS THE DUMBEST COMMENT IN THE HISTORY OF BLOGS.  I know we all use terms like "this is the best soup I have ever had" and things like that, but come on.  Do a little research.  Try searching for Michael Jordan quotes about his teammates.  Much, much worse than anything Kobe ever said.  Seriously, look it up.  I bet you would be shocked.  Even Phil Jackson has gone on record to say that Michael was a horrible teammate.  Actually I will do the work for you.  And yes I ripped this off from someone else's post.

Jordan quotes:

"I hate being out there with those garbagemen. They don't get you the ball."

"They've got no idea what it's all about. The white guys, they work hard, but they don't have the talent. And the rest of them? Who knows what to expect? They're not good for much of anything."

"I know what's gonna happen. We'll wait until the last minute and then they'll say something like they couldn't get a deal done because of the cap or somebody pulled out at the last minute. It happens here all the time. I don't know why I'm surprised every year."

"He can't do anything with the ball. Don't give it to him." - Michael yelling at Paxson who passed the ball to Perdue

"You ever hear of a guy, six-eleven maybe and two hundred sixty pounds, a guy big and fat like that and he can't get but two rebounds, if that many, running all over the [dang] court and he gets two rebounds? Big guy like that and he gets one rebound. Can't even stick his [expletive] into people and get more than that...Big, fat, fat guy. One rebound in three games. Power forward. Maybe they should call it powerless forward." - Michael ripping Stacey King a new one

"He was scared in there and panicking. He just lost it when Stockton scored." - Michael on B.J. Armstrong's mental fragility

I'll let them stand up and take responsibility for themselves."

"We have to do some things. We need to make some changes."

"...I call them 'the Looney Tunes.' Physically, they were the best. Mentally, they weren't even close."

"He's scared. He's got no heart...Nobody told me that. If I had spoken up, he wouldn't have been here."

"I know I can recognize what to do, but I'm not sure they can."

"It's a hell of a lot easier to make Earl Monroe look good than it is Brad Sellers."

"I hope there's a jumpshot in there." - Michael to Stacey King who was walking into the locker room with a box

"They don't need a ticket to watch you sitting on the bench. They can go to your house for that." - Michael to Charles Davis who was sorting through his tickets for his family and friends

"Give me the [expletive] ball." - Michael to Doug Collins who drew up a play for Dave Corzine

"I hate when I have to read that in the papers the next day, that I couldn't do something. It wasn't my fault."

"You're an idiot. You've screwed up every play we ever ran. You're too stupid to even remember the plays. We ought to get rid of you." - Michael to Horace Grant

"If you [pass the ball to Bill Cartwright], you'll never get the ball from me."

"We're not winning because of talent. We're just beating bad teams."

"Headache tonight, Scottie?" - Michael asks Scottie, while showing him his 2-for-16 line

"It's probably a twelve-day. He needs two days to wake up." - Michael on a ten-day contract teammate

"Five more years and I'm out of here. I'm marking these days on a calendar, like I'm in jail. I'm tired of being used by this organization, by the league, by the writers, by everyone."

"They're not interested in winning. They just want to sell tickets, which they can do because of me. They won't make any deals to make us better. And this Kukoc thing. I hate that. They're spending all their time chasing this guy."

"If I were a general manager, we'd be a better team."

"Will Vanderbilt. He doesn't deserve to be named after a Big Ten school." - Michael on Will Perdue

"I want to prove the critics wrong...I want to see some serious moves from management, which I really haven't seen that much of yet, and I want to see more serious attitudes from my teammates this year when it comes to the playoffs. In the past, it's been more or less a joking thing, sort of a 'Well, we're here, so let's have a good time.'"

"I'm sure everything will be fine if we win, but if we start losing, I'm shooting."

"I know what I would do if I were coach. I'd determine our strengths and weaknesses and utilize them. And it's pretty clear what our strength is."

"Your boy doesn't want to play. I'm tired of bailing his [Swearing is not permitted at **********. You must edit this post prior to submitting.] out." - Michael yelling at Jim Cleamons about Dennis Hopson

"I don't know about trading a 24 year-old guy for a 34 year-old guy." - Michael questioning the Oakley trade

"He's causing me too many turnovers." - Michael on Cartwright's inability to catch

"Why the hell don't you ever set a pick like that in a game?" - Michael yelling at Perdue after also hitting Perdue upside his head (led to the institution of the private curtain for practices)


Kobe asked to be traded because Laker management had not fulfilled their end of the bargain to go out and make a trade to bring in another superstar.  He did not call out anyone in particular.  As far as the parking lot video of Kobe, he did not know he was being filmed (allegedly) and only said he thought they should trade Bynum for Jason Kidd.  I don't think that sounds unreasonable.  I wonder what we would hear if we filmed your private discussions.

[Petro]

In reading his latest articles I believe his heart is in it he's a Celtic fan I think as long time fan he's scared of the Lakers that's why he kind of favored them in his recent article to protect himself from getting hurt.But he's green all the way

[huzy]

Sorry to deter off the subject but I planned on making a post related to Simmons myself...

I know the topic of Bill Simmons has been beaten to death on this blog recently, but I had a chance to read Bob Ryan’s response to Simmons’ statement that the Celtics and Lakers are not a rivalry. To say the least this piece was comforting for me as a young Celtics fan growing up and still living in the city. . (FYI: I’m 25)

I reminder talking to my dad and being excited about the Celtics bringing on Pitino and telling him that the emergence of Dino Radja was something that would lead to greatness. After every one of these conversations he would first give me a history lesson on Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, not “Tommy” but Tom, and KC Jones and then he would tell me to wait and see. There was always a sense of patience with my Dad’s generation. He’ll be turning 70 and has seen, listened to on the radio and read about every Celtics Championship that has been won and lost. Through everything, there has always been a bigger picture that he’s seen. Unfortunately, because of my age, I’m still looking at this team through a microscope…. 

The reason I bring this up is because Bob Ryan has always been my dad’s “go-to” Celtics writer. He’s been there and done that. Bob has a seasoned perspective on what the Celtics are and what they were and I feel that his rivalry, oh wait…I guess it’s a feud, with Bill Simmons has solidified his relevance to me as the patriarch Boston based writer for all things Celtics.

While I’ve been a fan of Simmons over the last several years, I like to many of you have grown tired of his shtick. I emphasize the word “grown” because I know find his writing juvenile and unoriginal.  I’ve come to think that accurate and compelling sports writing needs the following ingredients to be credible…perspective, humility,  respect for the game and athletes that you’re covering, and a strong sense of reality as to where you fit in the big picture. This is where I look to Bob as opposed to Bill. He gets it. He’s seen countless playoff series go 7 games. He’s seen great coaches, good coaches, poor coaches, and Rick Pitino. He knows not to overstate his point and he doesn’t have a gimmick to sell. He understands that In the larger scheme he’s there to commentate. He’s not the show but the narrator. Unfortunately, Simmons now believes that he’s the show.

Again, I know this is a tired subject, and for that I apologize. But, from this point on I think I’m sticking with my Dad’s Celtics writer and saying “so-long” to the guy who will undoubtedly be waving the “white flag” if we don’t come out of Boston with two wins on our way to L.A.

 

[pslakerfan]

How about this lovely quote from the original bridge burner Shaquille O'Neal  -  "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

[drza44]

How about this lovely quote from the original bridge burner Shaquille O'Neal  -  "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

"The worst teammate in the history of sports" is clearly a hyperbolic thing to say.  I get that, and I think most that read it did as well.  But I find it amusing that of the two ideas expressed in the sentence:

1) Kobe Bryant was a bad teammate
2) There has never been a teammate as bad (the hyperbole part)

You have chosen to twice attack the latter sentiment by suggesting that others are worse.  That's just an interesting tact to take, like a tacit admittance that he was bad but that that's ok, because surely in basketball history someone was worse.  As a fan, I'd think that would just be a battle I wouldn't enter into if that was the line I had to defend...

[johnnymost]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fK4YQDfxuM&eurl=http://townienews.blogspot.com/

I think he uses the "f" word, so just remove this if you have to, but it is wicked funny. I mean no harm.

[pslakerfan]

How about this lovely quote from the original bridge burner Shaquille O'Neal  -  "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

"The worst teammate in the history of sports" is clearly a hyperbolic thing to say.  I get that, and I think most that read it did as well.  But I find it amusing that of the two ideas expressed in the sentence:

1) Kobe Bryant was a bad teammate
2) There has never been a teammate as bad (the hyperbole part)

You have chosen to twice attack the latter sentiment by suggesting that others are worse.  That's just an interesting tact to take, like a tacit admittance that he was bad but that that's ok, because surely in basketball history someone was worse.  As a fan, I'd think that would just be a battle I wouldn't enter into if that was the line I had to defend...

I am pretty sure that my point was that Kobe wasn't "the worst teammate in history".  However if you want to debate the first part I will be happy to oblige.  I don't think he was a bad teammate at all.  If you ask his current or former teammates, most of them are quite fond of him.  They recognize he is driven to win more than almost anyone and that he holds others to a higher standard, but they respect his drive and understand it is not a personal thing.  Was he selfish in the early part of his career?  Of course.  I don't know if that makes you a bad teammate or not.  He is certainly not the best teammate ever, but I would put him somewhere in the middle.  He is more scrutinized because of his ability, fame, etc. but I believe that there are many, many other players that are worse teammates.  Of course all of this is opinion, and I would never try to say otherwise, but I think the term "worst teammate ever", is ridiculous.

Also I believe the term is "tack" not tact. If I am wrong I apologize, I mean to educate, not disrespect.  I found this on the web.  "This expression has nothing to do with tactfulness and everything to do with sailing, in which it is a direction taken as one tacks—abruptly turns—a boat. To “take a different tack” is to try another approach".

[CoachCowens]

OH MY GOD!!! YET ANOTHER BILL SIMMONS THREAD!!!!

Please make it stop, make it stop.

The guys opinion is useless and he is very rarely even entertaining anymore. Can we please dispense with the "Simmons wrote this so...." threads.

Please.

BTW, no offense ma11i nothing against you. You're the man in my book. Here's a TP for putting up with me!!

Yet you continue read these threads you want to stop