A couple of months ago I read The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy by Bill Simmons. I considered writing a review about it, but since it was released in October 2009, that didn't seem timely.
I won't spend too much time on the book specifically except to say this: if you like the Sports Guy, you'll like the book. It also had amazing amounts of information about the NBA, and you could tell Simmons did a copious amount of research. It was informative, entertaining, thoughtful, sometimes disgusting, and a little too long. Basically it was everything I like and dislike about his writing.
So that's what I'm going to write about: the sometimes painful relationship I have with a sports columnist who has no idea who I am. I am going to write a Bill Simmons-ike column about none other than Bill Simmons.
History
I started reading Bill Simmons shortly before he moved over to ESPN.com from his old website. I am an avid Boston sports fan, and a friend of mine from home sent me an email saying how hilarious the guy was. So I started reading, and I've been hooked since. I've read almost everything he's ever written, and in the last six months, I've also started listening to his podcasts.
But as much as I love his stuff, sometimes he annoys the crap out of me. So here's how I lay it out.
What I Like
He is the voice of Boston sports fans, for better or worse. His stuff after the 2004 World Series was awesome, and his sports relationship with his father is much like how I interact with my father for the Sox and the Celtics.
He is extremely witty, one of the funniest writers working today. He's also incredibly insightful, especially when it comes to basketball. He talks about becoming an GM of an NBA team; if I became incredibly weathly and purchased an NBA team (both unlikely scenarios), I would hire him. No kidding. His expertise is that good in basketball; he is very good at evaluating players, game situations, and he's probably thought more about the salary cap and played with more scenarios than half the GMs in the league. Not sure if he'd be good at managing people, negotiating with agents and such, but I could hire an assistant GM to do that. Someone like Kevin McHale.
Sports Guy is also very skilled with football. He's not an expert like in basketball (and specifically the NBA), but he understands the game and analyzes it well.
As for baseball, he's typically been an old-school fan. His love of the Red Sox is unquestionable, and he has a very good history with the team and makes references only long-time Sox fans and/or hard-core MLB fans can appreciate. And luckily he's recently embraced the statistical revolution in baseball (though it took far too long).
Though he's older than me, Sports Guy and I share some similar pop culture background, movies like 'Karate Kid', the Rocky films, etc., and we watch some similar TV shows today, including 'Survivor.'
Basically, outside of Peter Gammons, Simmons is probably my favorite sports columnist of all time. I have spent more hours than I can count reading his stuff, and for the most part don't regret a minute of it. I look forward to almost every column, and usually devour it within hours of it being posted. I can't think of a better endorsement than that.
As far as his podcasts are concerned, I avoided them for a long time because I thought he would make a bad radio host. I was partially right (see below), but for the most part, he's very good. He gets good guests, and instead of boring one-sided interviews, it's a real Sports Guy conversation. If I like the topic, there's a 97.8% chance I'm going to like the podcast. Sorry Dave Matthews; I will have to listen to you tomorrow.
What I Don't Like
First and foremost, his references to porn and female anatomy. I thought this would improve after he had a daughter of his own, but that was naive. I am a conservative Mormon who avoids that crap, and I have skipped entire columns because of it. I just wish he would ditch it entirely. It's offensive, tired and as he gets older, makes him sound a little creepy. (The sound you hear is me stepping off my soapbox.)
Until a recent column and podcast, I couldn't stand some of his analysis of baseball. He had ignored the statistical evolution of the sport (even though he partially embraced it in basketball and football), and even playfully mocked the stat geeks. I am a stat geek. I read Bill James, I love Baseball Prospectus, and like Bill is with basketball, baseball is my first sports love and passion. It bothered me that he was ignoring something that would make him understand the game better, especially since he was following a team that employs...(wait for it)...Bill James! (Wow, this soapbox is going to get worn out.)
Sometimes his stuff is too long. Not that his longest pieces are too long (because some of them aren't), but his genesis (his own website) and his meteoric rise have imbued him with a few bad writing habits, and he could edit a little more at times. This is more of a quibble than a complaint.
As I mentioned in the 'like' section, his podcasts are mostly good, but there are a few holes. He sometimes talks over his guests, which is annoying, especially if he has a less aggressive verbal participant. His voice is also kind of annoying, though you get used to it.
The biggest annoyance about the podcats is some of his friends. Jack-O has nothing interesting to add, besides being an annoying fan. I'm sure he's a nice guy, and maybe a lot of Sports Guy fans like the interaction. But I wish he would save some of these guys for brief references in his column.
The Final Word
So what does this column mean? I have no idea. I know I will keep reading his columns, keep selectively listening to his podcasts, and likely purchase and read any books he writes. But I can't help think that he could be better if he left some of the garbage out. He's a fun writer, a very good analytical mind, and he writes about the teams I love.
Though I will never make the end of one of his famous maibags, this much is true Bill Simmons: I, too, am one of your readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment