Simmons' ESPN Contract Up at End of Year......

[peeker643]

Where does he end up? Does he leave ESPN or do they capitualte to his financial and creative demands to keep him? Interesting:

http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/03 ... -this-year

[jfiling]

Simmons could start-up his own sports empire, particularly if he teamed up with a guy like Joe Posnanski. He could even just go the Pos route: maintain his own blog, with occasional crossposts to SI.com and magazine pieces.

Somehow this feels like deja vu.

[peeker643]

Simmons could start-up his own sports empire, particularly if he teamed up with a guy like Joe Posnanski. He could even just go the Pos route: maintain his own blog, with occasional crossposts to SI.com and magazine pieces.

Somehow this feels like deja vu.

You mean in a 'Simmons is already on a team with a great amount of talent and he's a lready a global icon and ESPN has tried to cater to him with 30/30 stuff so why would he go to a shitty team like Fox Sports or SI.com' kind of way?

Or we've talked about where Simmons is specifically going already?

Maybe both. But the Big Lead article came out uesterday so I hit it again because it put it back out there. I figured, "Shit, there's a separate thread every time Brady Quinn takes a piss or some poor law enforcement officer tases someone or something, why not another one of these?"

[jfiling]

No, I meant I would swear I made the exact take I made above elsewhere. I just have no idea where to find the old thread, or what it was really about.

I'd love if Simmons breaks the system. Maybe creates his own blog, and goes month-by-month writing for the highest bidder. I'd love seeing him uncensored at Deadspin.

[Triple-S]

The advantages to him working at ESPN are numerous, I mean, who else could do the "30 for 30" special (which has been very, very good, sans the Colts marching band one) that he pitched to the network? There's also numerous disadvantages to this as well, as ESPN can have a much more darker side and sometimes can be quite direspectful (Simmons and the Obama podcast cancellation being a prime example.)

Can he go out on his own and be successful? I believe he could, he has a decent enough following and enough street cred to keep an audience going well onto his own personal site, but I can really only see him doing this, if say one network such as Versus or FSN really knocks his socks both money wise and creative-control wise, which I really don't see happening.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Good.

I hope I never have to see or hear him on ESPN again.

I don't want his douchery to sully the great bastion of journalism that is ESPN.

[pup]

Simmons does his own thing (with the help of his heavy hitter Hollywood cats).

First name on his roster...Mark Titus.

[motherscratcher]

Simmons does his own thing (with the help of his heavy hitter Hollywood cats).

First name on his roster...Mark Titus.

Good call.

Personally, I don't care too much. I'll find him wherever he goes. I guess it would be nice if he was allowed to make fun of idiots like Berman and Scott, though. So my best case scenario is him starting his own thing.

Maybe bring in some fresh talent like Titus and team up with a few heavy hitters like Posnanski (although I don't know with him writing for SI now)and McPeek. Have a section for podcasts and team up with Carolla.

Bring in e0y to keep out the undesirables.

It could be good.

[jb]

Good.

I hope I never have to see or hear him on ESPN again.

I don't want his douchery to sully the great bastion of journalism that is ESPN.

+ 1

I predict he jumps off the Prudential Tower in an old school Geraldo Rivera TV special as a martyr to Boston sports. He'll weat a Pearce jersey, red sox, and patriots underoos.

[Cease]

No idea where he'll be writing, but I could see him joining Adam Carolla's ACE podcast network as Carolla tries to develop a revenue-generating platorm. Not that he'll get rich off of Podcasts, but if his buddy is working to put together a stable of talent, Simmons could throw his name on the talent roster for 2-3 years and see what happens.

His Podcasts need to go no holds barred and with ACE, he could keep his writing obligations for a major publication separate from the four letter-laden Podcast. If the network bears fruit, he's got a piece of ownership. If not, at least he's in an uncensored environment with upside.

[bucknutz94]

No idea where he'll be writing, but I could see him joining Adam Carolla's ACE podcast network as Carolla tries to develop a revenue-generating platorm. Not that he'll get rich off of Podcasts, but if his buddy is working to put together a stable of talent, Simmons could throw his name on the talent roster for 2-3 years and see what happens.

His Podcasts need to go no holds barred and with ACE, he could keep his writing obligations for a major publication separate from the four letter-laden Podcast. If the network bears fruit, he's got a piece of ownership. If not, at least he's in an uncensored environment with upside.

Love this idea. Absolutly love it. When he used to go on Carolla's podcasts it was gold Jerry, gold!

Plus I'd love to hear him dish on all the douche bags at ESPN, past and present.

[Triple-S]

per deadspin, olbermann on simmons

"I am again left to marvel how somebody can rise to a fairly prominent media position with no discernible insight or talent, save for an apparent ability to mix up a vast bowl of word salad very quickly."

http://deadspin.com/5486705/olbermann-j ... la-pile+on

What I find funny is that Olbermann's show on MSNBC is usaully just him reading off Dailykos talking points.

[e0y2e3]

I'm not sure who sucks more, Olberman for breathing or JackO and Simmons for melting all over Twitter about this.

Simmons does have the thinnest skin going, between last weeks melt down over JonesOnTheNBA, his past melt down over WEEI in Boston, and now this... call him out nationally and he may very well melt w/ the best of em.

[Ziner]

I got a chuckle out of this, then again anytime someone takes a shot at KO I get a chuckle out of it

Simmons twitter:

KO, please know the feeling is mutual. You're my worst case scenario for my career in 12 yrs: a pious, unlikable blowhard who lives alone.

I feel bad about saying Olbermann lives alone. I forgot about his cats.

[Triple-S]

I can't believe that a guy who consistently loses to Nancy Grace attacked Simmons. As if I needed 1 more reason to loathe him.

Word on the street is that Keith's blow-up doll once declared him "WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!!"

Epic. And before someone says that JackO and Simmons should take the high road, this IS the high road in Olbermann's screwed up world

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/200 ... rmann.html

[e0y2e3]

Problem is this is pattern behavior for Simmons (and I loathe Olberman).

EVERY time he takes crap from anyone he freaks out. He even has his intern hand block various hoops bloggers just in case they may at some point go to go at him apparently. Tom Ziller is a class act and a stud at Fanhouse and Simmons asked him a question on Twitter about an article last fall but Ziller couldn't answer because he was preventatively blocked.

Not to mention that this is the second time in a week Simmons has taken to Twitter to freak out about someone commenting on one of his columns.

Guy's skin is incredibly thin.

And this is the first time JackO has jumped on anything, he only did so because he is a super republican. Party shit, as always.

[Ziner]

Oh dont get me wrong, it is quite childish. I can admit that 95% of me finding it funny is because he is ripping on KO. I could careless what anyone says about Simmons so I will laugh when he gets all melty, especially with who it is pointed too.

[Triple-S]

Olbermann came back with another comment.

http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/archi ... r_all.html

This assumes that Mr. Simmons' career now is where mine was twelve years ago (anchoring SportsCenter, then my own MSNBC political show, anchoring NBC Weekend Nightly News, writing a best-selling sports book, etc). In fact, this assumes that this is Mr. Simmons' career, which is remarkable. Also, anybody who could write as many words without saying anything of consequence really should throw around the word "blowhard" as frequently as he would a street sewer cover.

Also, I don't think "pious" necessarily means what he thinks it does.

Having made his point 50% of his words ago, Mr. Simmons still continues. As usual:

Wow..just...this whole thing is made of douche. Feel the rage, of bathtub boy!

[motherscratcher]

Guy's skin is incredibly thin.

I love Simmons but this is spot on. I don't really follow twitter but I've heard of a few instances of him melting and I usually get a kick out of it because he's funny. But, when you have a little mini feud with Roger fucking Brown I think you need to take a step back. The fact that Simmons even acknowledged Brown's existence speaks volumes to the thickness of his skin.

BTW, what the hell does Olberman have against Simmons anyway?

[Triple-S]

Guy's skin is incredibly thin.

I love Simmons but this is spot on. I don't really follow twitter but I've heard of a few instances of him melting and I usually get a kick out of it because he's funny. But, when you have a little mini feud with Roger fucking Brown I think you need to take a step back. The fact that Simmons even acknowledged Brown's existence speaks volumes to the thickness of his skin.

BTW, what the hell does Olberman have against Simmons anyway?

Not so much it's anything Simmons has done, I think it's moreso jealously if anything.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/ ... ittle.html

I feel guilty linking this as it's very partsian, but it pretty much sums up the mental problems keith has, he's very insecure about himself and just is a nutjob.