Grantland

mikeford

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uncannymanny said:
Also know some of these folks (incl having lived several times with mikeford's brother) and lived in the blue house in the left of the cartoon in 2004 too (34 Calumet). Nuts that this is on Grantland.
No shit? Do we know each other then? I was still in HS when this story takes place but John occasionally let me hang around some of the less crazy shit, haha.


Also, @soxybrown, Right Brigade ruled but the LP sucks.
 

uncannymanny

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Dotrat said:
This was an amusing and entertaining read, but I nearly choked when I read this at the beginning:
"When he wasn’t in class, Wilson ran in the city’s hardcore music scene. A tougher, faster evolution of punk, hardcore had flourished in Washington, D.C., and New York in the ’80s and ’90s, and was now peaking in Boston. Bands like Bane and Reach the Sky couldn’t have cared less about the radio: They had hundreds of sweat-drenched kids in VFW halls screaming their anthems — furious songs about unity and perseverance — right back at them."
 
Uhm, OK--I guess Gang Green never existed then.
 
All in all, though, I really enjoyed it.
Gang Green was never really that popular in the grand scheme of things (and a lot of that was due to how intense the scenes to the south were). That era was definitely the height of Boston hardcore bands being popular and numerous. And you should have mentioned The Freeze too if you were going to be upset ;)

mikeford said:
No shit? Do we know each other then? I was still in HS when this story takes place but John occasionally let me hang around some of the less crazy shit, haha.


Also, @soxybrown, Right Brigade ruled but the LP sucks.
I don't think we've ever met surprisingly (or not knowing John), especially since I always thought you were older than him. I lived at 34 and then out in LA before he took the wild trip through South America. 38 was just before my time during my first stint in NYC, but I've met a lot of these guys over the years. I'm sure we will at some point. Keep meaning to visit them in Plymouth.
 

Dotrat

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uncannymanny said:
Gang Green was never really that popular in the grand scheme of things (and a lot of that was due to how intense the scenes to the south were). That era was definitely the height of Boston hardcore bands being popular and numerous. And you should have mentioned The Freeze too if you were going to be upset ;)


 
Well, sure, but I'm not suggesting that GG was popular, only that the term "hardcore punk" was often used in the early-to-mid '80s to describe a number of Boston bands like GG, SSD, and the Freeze. I'd even argue that that era's hardcore scene was much more vibrant than NYC's at the same time. It's a quibble, I admit.
 

ipol

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Dotrat said:
Well, sure, but I'm not suggesting that GG was popular, only that the term "hardcore punk" was often used in the early-to-mid '80s to describe a number of Boston bands like GG, SSD, and the Freeze. I'd even argue that that era's hardcore scene was much more vibrant than NYC's at the same time. It's a quibble, I admit.
I'm repping the 80's right with ya brotha. I grew up with a couple guys in Moving Targets. Saw all those bands back in the day.
 

Kliq

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I liked Wesley a lot when he was at the Globe, but lately I have found him a tad bit pretentious. On Grantland he tends to be stuck writing these long self-important epitaphs on movies that can be more effectively summed up in more convenient ways. This culminated in 6,000 words on why Ted 2 wasn't the movie we needed in these tumultuous times of race relations.
 

ifmanis5

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Klosterman must be close to leaving also. He didn't write very often for Grantland, mostly appeared on Bill's podcast. Simmons and Walsh were his biggest fans and they are now both gone. I'm guessing he'll ride out his contract and then leave. The last true feature he wrote was a year ago.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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ifmanis5 said:
Klosterman must be close to leaving also. He didn't write very often for Grantland, mostly appeared on Bill's podcast. Simmons and Walsh were his biggest fans and they are now both gone. I'm guessing he'll ride out his contract and then leave. The last true feature he wrote was a year ago.
 
When was the last time Klosterman was anywhere near Grantland -- aside from his Simmons podcast appearances? I can't remember the last thing he wrote for the site, other than an excerpt from his new book. 
 
That being said, I can't wait for Gladwell's follow up to his first Grantland piece. I bet it will drop any day now. 
 
Kliq said:
I liked Wesley a lot when he was at the Globe, but lately I have found him a tad bit pretentious. On Grantland he tends to be stuck writing these long self-important epitaphs on movies that can be more effectively summed up in more convenient ways. This culminated in 6,000 words on why Ted 2 wasn't the movie we needed in these tumultuous times of race relations.
 
Nothing a little - or any - editorial supervision couldn't fix, no?
 

Leather

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
 
When was the last time Klosterman was anywhere near Grantland -- aside from his Simmons podcast appearances? I can't remember the last thing he wrote for the site, other than an excerpt from his new book. 
 
That being said, I can't wait for Gladwell's follow up to his first Grantland piece. I bet it will drop any day now. 
 
Klosterman, Eggers...
 
The Dream of Grantland that never came to pass.
 

allstonite

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
 
When was the last time Klosterman was anywhere near Grantland -- aside from his Simmons podcast appearances? I can't remember the last thing he wrote for the site, other than an excerpt from his new book. 
 
That being said, I can't wait for Gladwell's follow up to his first Grantland piece. I bet it will drop any day now. 
 
Right after Eggers' next column. NY Times is obviously a big step up so this could be a one off but I hope this isn't the beginning of the post-Simmons house clearing at Grantland. I don't go there as often as I did a year or so ago but I'm glad it's still there. 
 

The Social Chair

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According to Jim Miller, Morris turned down the NY Times job last year but accepted it once ESPN fired Simmons. He's a GREAT writer and I'll miss him writing about movies on a weekly basis. 
 
 
drleather2001 said:
 
Klosterman, Eggers...
 
The Dream of Grantland that never came to pass.
 
Thank God. 
 

johnmd20

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
 
When was the last time Klosterman was anywhere near Grantland -- aside from his Simmons podcast appearances? I can't remember the last thing he wrote for the site, other than an excerpt from his new book. 
 
That being said, I can't wait for Gladwell's follow up to his first Grantland piece. I bet it will drop any day now. 
 
Klosterman has been limited in all his writings, of late. His last novel was released in 2011, although he did release an anthology in 2013. He must be out of words.
 

Leather

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johnmd20 said:
 
Klosterman has been limited in all his writings, of late. His last novel was released in 2011, although he did release an anthology in 2013. He must be out of words.
 
Oh come on.  He'll shake it off. He never goes out of style.  
 

Kliq

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ConigliarosPotential said:
 
Nothing a little - or any - editorial supervision couldn't fix, no?
 
Oh I think just being in a newspaper format where he might only have 1000 words to work with would do wonders for him. I stress that this is only my opinion, and I think he is a great writer and some people understandably really enjoy his work on Grantland, but to me he just comes off as so pretentious. If you were expecting a Seth McFarlene movie about a talking teddy bear to be full of poignant social commentary and to not be offensive to anyone, then you fail as a movie goer.
 
 
“You see that? You’re covered in rejected black guys’ sperm,” he says. “You’re like a Kardashian!”
It’s possible that at the theater where you watch this movie, the initial laughter will be too loud to hear Ted’s punch line. But I imagine that if Kanye West were to wind up in the audience, the punch would feel actionably real.
 
 
If we can't make fun of Kanye West in film what CAN we make fun of?
 

crystalline

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BrazilianSoxFan said:
They talked, but not what Deadspin wanted to hear. It was not uncommon to read rumours that the Grantland staff loved working under Simmons.
Just read the Deadspin piece. It was very well written, and very complimentary to Simmons.

The problem here is that as Jason Whitlocks disastrous attempt at building a black-interest version of Grantland shows, a big name doesnt make someone a capable manager and editor. In Simmons, Skipper found both, but Simmons is virtually unique. The vast majority of big ESPN personalities lack the tact, ability, or intelligence to run a site like Grantland. That doesnt mean one of them wont get to try.
The more we hear about Simmons in 2015, the more my respect grows for the guy. Say what you will about his thin skin, but being a good writer, podcaster, editor, and manager at the same time is very hard. Virtually unique, even.
 

nattysez

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Crikey, this sounds bad. FWIW, putting a lawyer in charge of creatives almost never works.  I can't believe ESPN did that.  
 
Discussions on background with Grantland staffers past and present (ESPN executives associated with Grantland declined to talk on the record or on background for this column) reveal that the site is beset by a climate of fear, a cycle of mistrust, and a belief amongst several that staff are “treated like children.” An overall lack of communication with management has been beyond frustrating for the staff. Many heard about Connelly’s appointment on their Twitter feeds—precisely where Simmons had learned of his dismissal.
 
 
So it was that executive vice president Marie Donoghue—a contract lawyer by training—came to supervise the creative galaxies not only of Grantland but also two other personality-driven Web franchises, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight and The Undefeated—the so called “black Grantland” incubated for a time by Jason Whitlock before his disastrous ESPN exit this year.
 
If the entire ESPN vs. Simmons situation hadn’t been so overdetermined, ESPN would have probably followed Simmons’s removal with friendly farewell checks to the remaining Grantland staff and then simply closed the joint down. With expected layoffs on the horizon, one can imagine dual justifications for bidding Grantland good-bye: “It was only done in the first place for Simmons and he’s not here anymore,” plus the inevitable, “We need to tighten our financial belts.”
However, Bristol might keep Grantland going if only to let the world know that it can survive without Simmons.
One has to feel for Donoghue. Even though she appears to enjoy the utmost loyalty from Skipper, many inside and out of Bristol—even those who like her—believe she’s a poor fit for her current job. To wit, she’s had what has to be one of the most difficult years for any network executive: the Simmons fiasco, the Whitlock fiasco, and disappointing optics surrounding FiveThirtyEight—perceived as an afterthought and not as smart and provocative as its founder, Nate Silver.
 
 

Hoya81

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October 30th makes it exactly 4 years, full time, at Grantland. October 30th is also graduation day: my last day at Grantland. Feels right.
— Rembert Browne (@rembert) October 19, 2015
 

JimD

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nattysez said:
Crikey, this sounds bad. FWIW, putting a lawyer in charge of creatives almost never works.  I can't believe ESPN did that.  
 
 
 
No surprise to anyone who's worked in the corporate world - the new boss comes in and has little to no interest in the old boss's pet projects. 
 

Cellar-Door

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Interesting that Rembert is getting out early, and not joining Simmons.
 
https://twitter.com/JimMiller/status/656124610191183872
 
 
Wonder if that was part of the deal to let him out a year early was that he wouldn't go to whatever Simmons' new project is.
 

Silverdude2167

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Grantland has not released a podcast in one and a half business days now. None of the Friday or Monday stuff has gone out.
Maybe I am jumping the gun on thinking something is up. But this is ruining my commute. 
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Silverdude2167 said:
Grantland has not released a podcast in one and a half business days now. None of the Friday or Monday stuff has gone out.
Maybe I am jumping the gun on thinking something is up. But this is ruining my commute. 
ZOMG!!!! One and a half business days???!???!!! Jesus Christ, did the office explode?
 

JBill

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The Social Chair said:
A new Jim Miller piece - http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/10/espn-bill-simmons-breakup
 
The site falling apart post-Simmons is all the proof that anybody needs that the anonymous ESPN executive is full of shit. 
I like how staff loyalty to Simmons is played off as some sort of trick Simmons played, "us against them." ESPN got rid of Simmons and managed Grantland post-Simmons in the most clusterfucked way possible. Isn't it possible that a Grantland staffer would look at it and want no part? And either follow Simmons for a new opportunity or go somewhere else if you have the option, like Rembert. Just attributing all that to blind loyalty is silly.
 

mcpickl

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Zach must've said something nice about the people who left Grantland in his podcast with Kevin Arnovitz. Real shoddy edit about 27 minutes in where they edited it in the wrong spot by about 5 seconds and ended up with it sounding like Zach repeated himself.
 
If you're going to censor your employees, at least don't show the seams. Good grief Grantland.
 

Kliq

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They should be smooching Zach's ass right now if they knew what was good for them. For all of their losses, if they retain him and Keri then my traffic to their website will be about the same.
 

bbc23

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Kliq said:
They should be smooching Zach's ass right now if they knew what was good for them. For all of their losses, if they retain him and Keri then my traffic to their website will be about the same.
Simmons had an AMA on /r/nba today and certainly implied Lowe re-upped with Grantland by saying they wouldn't be able to work together for a long time.  This included a Shawshank Redemption comparison of course.
 

Joe D Reid

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The NFL podcast is back, and started with Barnwell saying "So, as I was saying..." and going on to talk about the people who left Grantland. So whoever is left at the top of the masthead over there must have backed off of their former policy. Barnwell twisting the knife like that was fun.
 

Cellar-Door

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Joe D Reid said:
The NFL podcast is back, and started with Barnwell saying "So, as I was saying..." and going on to talk about the people who left Grantland. So whoever is left at the top of the masthead over there must have backed off of their former policy. Barnwell twisting the knife like that was fun.
I bet the podcast isn't in Barnwell's contract. He isn't obligated to do it, so they had to either cave or not have one.
 

Joe D Reid

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Cellar-Door said:
I bet the podcast isn't in Barnwell's contract. He isn't obligated to do it, so they had to either cave or not have one.
There was another sort of odd exchange right afterward where he and Mays talked about how the podcast is something they do, and Mays said something like "It sure is!" So I suspect that the podcast is in fact part of their contracts now. That way the bosses get guaranteed content, Mays and Barnwell get editorial independence, and everyone gets to say they won.
 

nattysez

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Joe D Reid said:
The NFL podcast is back, and started with Barnwell saying "So, as I was saying..." and going on to talk about the people who left Grantland. So whoever is left at the top of the masthead over there must have backed off of their former policy. Barnwell twisting the knife like that was fun.
 
Not to mention that they had Rembert, who is leaving Grantland, on the podcast at length (nb - I haven't listened to the whole thing yet).
 

Clears Cleaver

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Zach Lowe is free?!?!

Sucks but was inevitable. ESPN is hemmoraging, they just put kibosh on acc network, jacoby/jalen moved to radio, etc
 

soxhop411

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@MJ_Baumann: Well that's the first time I've ever found out I was laid off via Twitter
 

soxhop411

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I guess ESPN can't be bothered to keep its employees up to date on their employment status. Twitter does that for them.