Haralaboube*He's Canadian, but he needed an Americanized name because the Canadianized version would be Haralabogordon.
Haralaboube*He's Canadian, but he needed an Americanized name because the Canadianized version would be Haralabogordon.
Haralabo-ieHe's Canadian, but he needed an Americanized name because the Canadianized version would be Haralabogordon.
It’s also important for me to identify that we want to be more responsive than we were in the past. The work we did at Grantland was great and we took our time with it, which was one of the things that really made it valuable and thoughtful. But we always thought that we were just an inch outside the conversation. We want to be a little more active participants in the conversation on the web.
SI: So if I extrapolate that: You want more commentary on real-time issues to appear on The Ringer?
SF: Yeah, I think that is fair to say but it’s also the speed in which we respond. I think we want to have a group of young writers that can move inside of the news cycle more quickly than we did in the past. We will still have great columnists. We will attempt to have elite feature writing. Those are hallmarks of what we did in the past and totally meaningful to us going forward. But I think we need to move a little quicker given the way consumption works and the way mobile has transformed content. We need to be more nimble.
Is it crazy to think that it's being funded by Simmons and a few other guys personally until they get their sponsorships going, but they don't want to advertise that fact?I think they've rolled this out well, already over 120,000 followers on twitter. And an email newsletter prior to the website launching seems like a good idea, particularly as that's the only way to read Simmons for now, so they'll have a massive distribution list by the time the website launches.
Fennessey said no comment on the funding in the interview linked above, I wonder how come?
I'd say that's a pretty likely scenario.Is it crazy to think that it's being funded by Simmons and a few other guys personally until they get their sponsorships going, but they don't want to advertise that fact?
I was thinking the same but I don't think he'll be as involved in the new site beyond the planning and financing. Like a producer on a movie more than the director. I doubt he'll be writing much more than he was even towards the end of his Grantland run. He's not going to be Editor in Chief this time and he hired some old NFL media guys to help sell ads and other behind the scenes stuff. He hired most of the podcast people back so they run that side of things. Still a lot to take on but I think/hope he can handle it. I am really rooting for him because he can show that ESPN's decision wasn't a financial one and make them look bad for getting rid of one of the few credible brands they had left.I'd say that's a pretty likely scenario.
I'm kind of surprised that Simmons is taking all this on at once. A new website with quality long form writing as well as a 30 minute(?) TV show for HBO every week. I'm sure some of the content will be shared between the two entities, but that's still a lot of production. Especially for someone that wasn't writing much towards the end of his Grantland days, and was never really a great TV presence to begin with. Bill seems to be very good at finding the right talent to surround himself with to make up for his shortcomings, and some of the names that have signed on to produce/write for his HBO show seem to prove that he is still very good at identifying the right talent to bring aboard, but to jump in on both of these ventures simultaneously is a rather large undertaking on both parts.
Hopefully Jonah Keri's contract is up soon and he isn't much longer for the WWL. I could give a shit about Barnwell. Who else got stuck behind that we would want?Given the wave of support for everyone involved in Grantland after getting shut down by ESPN, it probably makes sense to strike now with the website.
Jonah has a bunch of new gigs. He writes for SI now, cbssports.com, and also has Nerdist's first sports podcast and is heading their sports division. He also hinted that he's going to be branching out here and there and going beyond baseball and sports. He's probably not going anywhereHopefully Jonah Keri's contract is up soon and he isn't much longer for the WWL. I could give a shit about Barnwell. Who else got stuck behind that we would want?
He was explicit in response to some tweets that it will not be behind a paywall.That announcement mentions "premium content" twice. Hmmm.
Doesn't this describe him talking about anything for the last 10 years?I am refusing to listen to any of his pods that discuss Deflategate. Get over it, Bill. You've discussed it to death and you never say anything new on the subject.
Did like the Bill and Bob podcasts, but Mays has been really good on the SI Football Pod with Benoit so hopefully they pair him up with someone good back on the BSPN.Totally happy that Robert Mays is back in the fold. Hired at The Ringer. I don't think Barnwell will be back, and can't say I'll miss him.
@robertmays Life stuff: Pretty excited to say that next month, I'll be joining some old fiends as a staff writer at The Ringer.
Boxing fan and it was great. I do love the part at the end about not forgetting random things like his boxing dates. Reminded me of the fact I could name the starting lineup of the Rip Hamilton UConn team earlier today but have difficulty remembering important stuff for school.Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
I think it was easily the best podcast Bills done this year. My favourite part was Jim's recollection of Cosell reciting the lyrics to Bob Dylan's Forever Young during Ali Spinks II.Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
Couldn't agree more. Lampley was very impressive - and listening to two guys with such impressive memories for sports events geek out with each other was really fun.Not a boxing fan, but I loved Bill's podcast with Jim Lampley. It was 80 minutes long, but I was still disappointed when it was over.
Agreed. Plus Lampley has great pipesCouldn't agree more. Lampley was very impressive - and listening to two guys with such impressive memories for sports events geek out with each other was really fun.
He seemed perfectly educated about the risks to me, he was just very accepting, and somewhat cavalier about them and the costs that come from the sports him and his friend voluntarily participate in. It's his brain, body and life.The Jay Glazer interview was interesting to me because Glazer is so ignorant about the repercussions for concussions, pain killers, etc, and has clearly never wanted to educate himself too much, but it's pretty much a snapshot of many athletes involved in the situation. "They said Frank Gifford had CTE, well sign me up for the Frank Gifford experience! He had an awesome life", or "If you don't have a solution, don't tell me about my concussions, ignorance is bliss", or "We were all messed up to begin with, it wasn't like we were alright when we decided to [play football, enlist in the army, MMA]". Basically a complete disbelief that the worst case scenario would happen to him. I wonder if that ego and optimism that "I'll always have the best outcome" is inherent to people that succeed in professional sports.
Getting two former high level Obama guys seems like a huge get for Simmons, though both Favreau and Pfieffer need to work on reducing their vocal tics, for example they said "right" way way way too much.I saw that Simmons just spun them off into their own podcast on Channel 33, they must be planning that as a regular pod running at least until the election.