On Grantland.com

For the better part of the last ten years I have read most everything published by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. Simmons is an immensely talented writer who is able to cover sports from the viewpoint of a fan and writes in a form that flows in a way that sucks the reader in. Like many talented creators, Simmons often was less than pleased with his employer and shared that with his readers on more than several occasions. Recently there were rumors regarding his possible departure from ESPN, reality resulted in a new ESPN.com website, Grantland, of which Simmons is editor in chief.

In the initial editorial, Simmons described Grantland as a site dedicated to the intersection of sports and pop culture as seen through the writings of several highly regarded authors. It would be separate from ESPN and provide a more sophisticated analysis of both key subjects. As a longtime reader of Simmons I was looking forward to Grantland and so far I have been disappointed. At best it’s comparable to certain sections of the Onion’s AV Club website and at worst it seems like a US weekly type celebrity obsessive. For the most part the only difference to Simmons; style has been an increase in forced inanities used to maintain the tie between sports and pop culture. That and a few curse words.

Two weeks ago there was a column about how Ryan Reynolds isn’t a movie star and how Will Smith doesn’t challenge himself enough in his films and therefore isn’t as good an actor as he could be. Yawn. Neither argument matters. Will Smith has made a lot of movies and most of them have made a lot of money. And even if he wasn’t successful in film, he was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and that alone makes him an institution in my household. And what in the world must have Reynolds done to Simmons to deserve such treatment? Reynolds has been in a lot of movies (to include many starring roles) as well and started in a television role also, in ABC’s Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. Besides, Simmons identifies Justin Timberlake as a movie star in the piece and despite his merits I can’t even recall him in an actual starting role outside of this summer’s “Friends with Benefits”. But I digress. None of it matters because there is no way to actually label such things, it’s all just opinion.

Last week Simmons attempted to solve the NBA labor kerfuffle by using the movie “Dave”, about a presidential impersonator who solves all the country’s problems when he is somehow made President. And Simmons takes this concept very seriously. Simmons should have asked movie star Ben Affleck to re-enact his seen in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” to explain to him that Dave was a fictional character. The reason the comparison doesn’t work is that “Dave” is a deeply flawed fictional fantasy land film that over simplifies the deeply flawed nonsense that makes up our government. Simmons’ piece is basically an eighteen year old movie based cudgel used to attack NBA commissioner David Stern. Does Simmons demonstrate any real, actual knowledge of the NBA and the various positions that led to the current labor strife? Actually, yes, there is some good background information that is lost in the silly tie to a stupid movie. There are ideas in the piece, such as Simmons’ contention that star NBA players actually aren’t paid enough. Again, just the writer’s opinion and one better left to stand on its own without the movie references.

I have read other columns on Grantland but haven’t been able to finish most because they’re either boring or are nothing more than idle celebrity gossip. It’s still early though and as a fan, I hope Simmons figures it out.