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| '''Bill Simmons''' (born ]), best known as "The Sports Guy," is a columnist for "]" on ].com and ]. | '''Bill Simmons''' (born ]), best known as "The Sports Guy," is a columnist for "]" on ].com and ]. | ||
| ==Basics== | |||
| His ESPN.com column, which started in 2001, is notable for its prodigious length and the irregularity with which it is written, as well as its extended analogies and references to ] (especially from the ] and ]). Simmons aims for humor in his columns, which are written from the perspective of a fan rather than an objective journalist. | |||
| Simmons has earned a love/hate relationship with his readers, who often complain that he writes far too often about ]-related topics and the ] in general at the expense of other more popular sports. A native ]er, Simmons is a passionate fan of the ], ] and ]. He also passionately roots against certain teams, specifically the ], ] Eagles, ], and ]. He moved to ] at the end of ], and is currently a ] season ticket holder. | |||
| ==Memes== | |||
| Simmons responds to issues in the sports world in a unique way, usually putting a different, funny, and unique spin on events, ideas, and theories. One of his most used ]s, which was actually the brainchild of ], has been the "]", which details the unusual increase in success teams often have after the departure of a superstar. Additional Simmons running conventions include referring to players who are no longer effective as having "a giant salad fork sticking out of their back", the "Juvenation Machine" (used to describe an athlete or team having a strong comeback year) and "I will now light myself on fire" (a catchphrase he uses whenever forced to admit an unpleasant truth, such as his ] acknowledgement of ] as the player most deserving of the ] ] award). Simmons recently made the semi-serious suggestion that sports teams should hire a Vice President of Common Sense who would be an average fan essentially taken off the street and given no behind-the-scenes knowledge. This official would be able to veto any team move and would be on the lookout for obviously mediocre decisions arising from such problems as bureaucracy, group-think and hype (by way of introduction to the concept, Simmons said that the VP of Common Sense would have selected ] over ] in the ]). He uses such terms so frequently that ESPN.com has a glossary of Simmons conventions, with links to articles in which they were used. | |||
| ===Reggie Cleveland All-Stars=== | |||
| Simmons also created the "Reggie Cleveland All-Stars", a list of sports figures whose names seem not to match their ethnicities. (The namesake is ], a former pitcher whose white background did not seem to match his "]-sounding" name.) | |||
| Simmons officially designated the following players as All-Stars: | |||
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| Many others have been nominated on various websites. He also noted that recently drafted ] is a "mortal lock" to be named to the All-Star team. | |||
| ==Style== | |||
| His writing is characterized by references to ], ] such as ] and ], his disdain for the ], male insecurities, and anxiety about the emasculating effects of wives and girlfriends. | |||
| He frequently mentions friends and family in his column, and trips to Las Vegas or other gambling venues with his friends. Simmons frequently writes about his gambling, whether it's at the blackjack table or his many parlays during football season. On Fridays during the ] season, he makes picks for every game. | |||
| He will also discuss movies (most notably, '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''), favorite TV shows of the past and present, his many fantasy sports teams, memories regarding professional wrestling (mainly with the ]) and video games. One of his ongoing projects is "The Best 72 Sports Movies of the last 33 Years", which he updates in no particular order. He also occasionally writes columns answering reader's e-mails. One of his more popular columns is his annual Draft Diary, where he discusses watching the ] and mocks various aspects of it. | |||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| Simmons is an avid ] fan and is quick to express his opinions over who's doing a good job and who's not. He has heavily criticized Celtics head coach ], ] general manager ] (who once called Simmons an "asshole"), and especially ] coach and general manager ]. This led to Thomas threatening Simmons on ]'s radio show in early 2006, saying, ''"If I see this guy Bill Simmons, oh, it's gonna be a problem with me and him."'' He has claimed that despite his comments in the past, he and Baylor are now on good terms. | |||
| == Personal life == | |||
| In 1988, Simmons completed a postgraduate year at ], a ] located in ] after attending ] in ]. Simmons attended and graduated from the ] in 1992, and subsequently studied sports journalism at ], where he received his masters degree. Before his affiliation with ESPN, he was known as the "Boston Sports Guy" on the web site ] ]. Simmons also worked for the ] briefly in the 1990s, and he was a bartender for a short time while he established himself on the web. | |||
| In the fall of 2002, he moved to ] to work as a comedy writer for '']''. Although he left the show in 2004, he remained in California. Simmons also frequently writes about his non-sports related personal life in his columns. He often mentions his wife, Kari, but only as "The Sports Gal", and his baby daughter Zoe, born in the spring of 2005. | |||
| Simmons now boasts his own section of ]'s Page 2, entitled "Sports Guy's World", and in late 2004 launched an online cartoon based on his columns. He has appeared on ]'s '']'' and '']'', and is an occasional guest on several sports talk radio shows. | |||
| On ], ], Simmons released his first book, '']''. The book is a collection of his colums, with minor changes and lengthy footnotes, leading up to the ] victory by the Boston Red Sox. | |||
| In the ], ] edition of ESPN The Magazine, Simmons revealed that he would be competing in the ]. It's not clear yet if Simmons himself is fronting the $10,000 entry fee. | |||
| On ], ], Simmons won the ] beating out ] in the final by a score of 1028-852. Other celebrites that participated were ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Simmons attributed his success to his extensive knowledge of the ] and to star player ], as well as the Isiah-esque ineptitude of ] analyst Smith. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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Revision as of 18:21, 25 July 2006
Bill Simmons (born 1969), best known as "The Sports Guy," is a columnist for "Page2" on ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine.