Not defending, just explaining:
Toucher's (perhaps irrational and unfair) complaint was that the piece was a narrative framed as though it were a sort of inspirational/generational vicarious triumph ala 2004 Red Sox, when (in Toucher's view), it was really about a famous rich guy who scored expensive seats to a sought-after game without knowing a whole lot about hockey. A focal point of the anger was the fact that Simmons misspelled player names, and (supposedly) only discovered his lifelong love of hockey when he bought primo seats to an expensive game.
It was drawing awfully fine and blurry distinctions in terms of justification for outrage, and had the texture of trying to rationalize a mostly visceral dislike of someone. Toucher seems to have a sort of knee-jerk, blue-collar cynicism that gets riled up by any evidence of self-esteem, a kind of need to make sure that the first and most important fact about anyone is that their shit stinks, too. Disliking Bill Simmons is of a kind with his dislike of "hippies" and Tim Tebow fans, his salty (and sometimes even abusive) relationship with some of his colleagues who exhibit more self-assurance, and his tendency to go off on callers who want to critique structural elements of the show (as opposed to his generally good and mature handling of topical disagreement).
I suspect all of us have known some people with a similar "just don't go thinking you're special" attitude. It often accompanies smart and acerbic wit, and is frequently found in very smart and accomplished people. It might even be catalyst for or effect of certain breeds of talent. But it never makes for good conversation, and only ever makes for good entertainment when done with cleverness and humor. In its raw and un-tempered form, it's like drinking a glass of bile, and is certainly bad radio.
There might or might not be enough smugness and self-satisfaction in Bill Simmons' writing to built a clever and witty bit ala the Gruden-this-guy stuff, and there might even be enough to launch a serious and interesting discussion about the role and nature of Sports Journalism (although that may be a bit outside T+R's wheelhouse). But just going off on the guy because you don't like him is bad radio, and is certainly no better than telling stories about you and your dad going to a big game.
