speedythief

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/070223

Bill Simmons is arguably the best sports writer out there right now. Now, he's no prognosticator, as he often predicts what he wants to happen rather than what will most likely happen. But he is a thoroughly entertaining writer and is consistently funny. Doug Smith is doing his best to imitate him these days with his "Nothing but (Inter)Net" column, so he's even won over the Toronto rag mafia.

Here is what he had to say about (our) Raps, after giving us the best trade deadline report card grade of any NBA team:

seifer0406

lol, I don't know why Raptors fans write angry emails to him. You're not suppose to take him seriously. Boston fans have it rough this year though. But then again at least they have several young players to be excited about rather than us a few years ago with only Bosh.

Yao Mania

gotta love how he thrashed Rod Thorn in that article too. Love reading Simmons, lets it out like a true fan

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crimedog

agreed that simmons is the most entertaining writer out there, but i think you do him a disservice by bringing up doug smith in the same breath. i find smith increasingly irritating. nice to see simmons acknowledge his mistake re: Morrison vs. Bargnani (for the second time now...also said it in the all-star game piece)

narrator

I laughed out loud at the Bryan Adams line. Simmons still has it most of the time. Sometimes it seems like he's lost his fastball, though his NBA columns are consistently first rate.

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Budweiser_Boy

lol, pure gold. Good find speedy.

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"The Toronto Raptors are Vince Carter and Chris Bosh will now be known as half man, half series.

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shookem

He's a columinst so you can't give him too much cred. Even still I'd take the humour of Steve Rushin any day over Bill Simmons. It's too bad he's retiring, SI won't be the same without him.

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narrator

Rushin used to be funny. Now he's just a whiny, whipped sap. That said, he's still better than Reilly, whom I can't stand.

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Benis007

i have to agree, simmons is the only sports writer that i read on a consistent basis.


for those of you who like to hear it like it is, check out Randy Galloway from the Fort Worth Star Telegram, an old school Bill Simmons.

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Victor Page

Bill Simmons insight into the NBA is exceptionally entertaining and full of information you don't get anywhere. He's not a former player, nor is he in the locker rooms, so he doesn't have to sugar coat everything he says.

His NCAA hoops knowledge is poor - he has admitted that he can't stand the college game (though recently he's annointed himself an NCAA expert again).
As a result, his NBA draft day analysis is off the mark.

But I like him because he makes an argument, backs it up with reasoned analysis, and is willing to admit when he's wrong (i.e. with Bargnani).
Most writers play both sides of the fence - criticize a GM for making a move that, 3 months ago, they in fact argued that the GM should make.

We saw this with the Carter deal, when almost all Toronto writers argued that Carter "had to be traded, even for 40 cents on the dollar". Then when that exact swap took place (Carter for 40 cents), they killed Babcock for it. And now, they're even swinging back to their original position (good move, created cap space, allowed Bosh to grow, etc...)

narrator

He admits he doesn't watch NCAA hoops except for the Tournament but that doesn't mean his draft day analysis is off the mark. He has specific kinds of players he likes: NBA ready players. Though he does admit when he's wrong, I haven't seen any case where he's been horribly wrong about a player making the transition to the NBA.

The thing that gets him is that GMs (a) have no balls, (b) pick based on potential, and (c) over-think they're draft picks (this applies more to the NFL but it applies in the NBA as well). I think (b) and (c) are cogent arguments. I'm glad Colangelo isn't part of (a), too.

__________________
"If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this is useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all who claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think everything you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told you should want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned."