I would agree with this:
. Can he write like Cramer or Thompson? Of course not. Is he on-air smooth like Olbermann and Patrick? Hardly. Will he be coding for Major League Baseball Advanced Media anytime soon? No.
But Simmons did take wild advantage of his own ingenuity, ESPN’s global reach, and culture’s emerging technologies to become his generation’s preeminent sports journalist. Not its best, not its most talented, not its wisest … but certainly its most visible (and one of its wealthiest).
I really think someone should pay him a bunch of money to go the Marc Maron route and continue on with the B.S. Report (although I believe ESPN owns the name). Dude is a legitimately great sports podcaster.
Agreed, I enjoy listening to Simmons on his podcast far more than I enjoy reading him. He doesn't often write anything all that great these days, though some of his guys on Grantland write some pretty great stuff (Zach Lowe really stands out, for example).
The thing that has made Simmons famous has always been the thing that also draws many people's ire -- he doesn't look or sound the part. He doesn't look or sound like an Olbermann or Patrick, or write like Peter King or even Rick Reilly.
Simmons's appeal is that he seems like a normal guy, a fan "like you or me," only with an Encyclopedic knowledge of sports history and popular culture, and an outstanding ability to weave the two together. He also is clearly very good at making contacts in the business and leveraging them to garner information, quotes, and interviews.
He writes and sounds the way he does because that's what helps him stand out, and makes him more accessible to a broader audience. ESPN would be better if more of their content were generated by people like that. Less focus on looking or sounding the part, and more focus on knowledge and genuine enthusiasm, an ability to relate to the average consumer.
