Just Googled "Bill Simmons sucks" after glancing at his lame article on the World Cup (7/5/06) and hit your article! Very well done & couldn't agree w/you more!

DJ you may now take Bill Simmon's balls out of your mouth. Bill Simmions reminds me of the dork growing up that no liked, always was made fun of and never got picked. Now he thinks his "reality" style of writing makes him part of the in crowd. He sucks, true fans of sports could care less about what he writes and if he wasnt pushed by the Disney Channel, I mean ESPN, no one would miss him a bit.

Nicely written article. Simmons is basically "played". Yeah, Karate Kid has some funny line but enough already. If he wrote an article how he did an 8-ball of coke, maxed out 25K in credit cards and woke up next to transvesite hooker in Vegas then I might read but he's simply giving us the nerd's version of Vegas. We have all been to Vegas and we have all had a beer and a cheeseburger at 6AM. Every once in a while we even sneak a Marlboro Light in there. Big f'in deal. Part of his problem is that he went to Holy Cross. There are few universities out there that have a larger percentage of white dorks; it's got to be over 88%. DJ is just another guy hooked on the opiate of the masses; he'll be the first guy lined up to see the new Superman movie and when he leaves he'll be high-fiving his pocked-marked face work buddy exclaiming "that was awesome dude!"

Great article. I only got introduced to the sports guy recently (past few years) and I have been tiring of his writing. I haven't been able to put my finger on it but this article and its responses do put it into perspective for me. He really does think that he is cool and has it all figured out and hey, maybe he does in his gap khaki, white socks and sneaker world. The unfornate truth is that his world is the "mass" world of the US...

Thank God somebody wrote an intelligent article laying bare the fact that Bill Simmons is a waste of space on planet Earth. I love how he writes articles about Las Vegas trash when he is the opitimy of what he writes. At least his initials stand for what he writes: B.S.

Bill Simmon's does suck. I came to this realization while reading one of his columns about Las Vegas. In the middle of reading about how much he hates to deal with other Vegas "types" I realized that he himself is the "epitome" of a certain Vegas "type." The type of guy that seems to think that his inside jokes are incredibly clever and that by imitating the boorish and stupid behavior of some jocks he will be admitted to their fraternity. I've got news for you Bill, you are not, nor will you ever be Tom Brady. You will remain what you are, a self-important jock sniffer who seems to think cigars, brandy and Vegas are the definition of manhood. I'm not saying that these are unmanly, but one of the great things about becoming a man is that you can come out of your boys only club house and be respected by women.

I think we can all agree that snoring is a major concern for many couples and roommates alike. Kudos to Bill Simmons for touching on it in an engaging and thought-provoking manner. His column alone caused me to research the epidemic that is snoring. Where would we be without him?

I'm sure Simmons is losing sleep at night knowing that he's getting called out by the college newspaper writer and all his grammar and spelling-challenged supporters. Seriously, I don't really have much of an opinion on Simmons, but until you're a bit more established, it's probably not a good idea to devote a column to bashing writers who have accomplished waaaaaaay more than you.

If you don't like Bill Simmons' columns, do what lots more folks do with Dan McCarthy's columns -- don't read them.

Bill Simmons is a pioneer, and this article reeks of jealousy. How much do you want to bet that the writer is himself the kind of guy that was always picked last, never made the varsity, and now feels the need to bring down everything and everyone gaining popularity through sports? There isn't a single sportswriter in the world today that represents my generation more than he does, and his ratings make it obvious that many many people agree with me. I think that when he is done with his column, Bill Simmons and I should get an apartment together.

Bill Simmons is getting paid to write sports, you're not. If you don't like his stuff, why don't you just NOT READ IT? I understand at people disliking say, Paris Hilton, because she's everwhere and you can't really avoid her, so if you're annoyed of her you really can't do anything about it. But Bill Simmons could be EASILY avoided if you don'tlike him.
So the fact you all are complaining makes you guys look like fools. Why waste time on someone you don't care for and write a whole article on it? It's not like he's really that bad anyway, you guys are clowns.

what a classy thing to do... shooting down a fellow writer that has done absolutely nothing personal to you. reminds me of the whole 2001 Esquire interview with A-Rod. karma... you know what they say about that.

regardless of whether or not bill simmons is a "nerd", he is one thing for sure. and that's an easy (often times enjoyable) read during a quick break at work. i think everyone can appreciate that, unless your a college student with nothing better to do than trying to imagine what kind of guy a writer is in real life. who cares?! if i like the column after the first few paragraphs i continue reading, if not i click on the next link. simple.

um, who are you mccarthy? are you that desperate to be noticed? does simmons really bother you THAT much that you had to write an entire article on him?

my theory: you picked the one of the top writers in the world that people would actually google, just so your lame article would been seen. well done, loser.

Bill Simmons is the most famous sports writer to our generation. You aren't. Anyone who makes a living criticizing things other people accomplish is dispicable.
His (and apparently 'your') profession is squirrely, maggot, b.s that backup special teams players from high school get into.

He is your idol. Pipe down.

What people on here who are 'hating' seem to forget is he wanted to write so he started his own website long before people were 'blogging for fame'. He worked for the local Boston paper for a bit, but his website was getting more hits than the Herald's sales. So what is he supposed to do? One thing for sure, everyone who is on this site, making comments will know, hopefully, once in their life: If you can do something the way you want, and it leads to you making enough money to do it for a while, and it lets you reach certain dreams..regardless of what other people say to you or about you, you smile when you get out of bed to be yourself for a whole day..and smile even more as imitators begin to grow like fungus all around you. I'm a Simmons fan for more than just his writing..I'm a fan cuz he made it happen for himself on his terms.
Do that, and I'll be a fan of yours as well.

I never struggle to finish a Bill Simmons' article, he's entertaining. Do I always agree with him? No, but that's because I watch enough sports to form my own opinions; although I concede they're not nearly as funny as most of the Sports Guy's. I don't understand the animosity of you people. None of you are as funny, especially the author--I REALLY had to force myself to finish reading your article. I'll just chalk it up to another case of kids at a smart school, who have had the chance to taste most everything, and now have absolutely no taste at all.

I found Simmons' articles by accident and I couldn't believe what I found: someone who wrote exactly what I was thinking about sports, only with better jokes and clever analogies to pop culture. After the Patriots won their first Super Bowl I didn't know quite how to react, and I remember thinking, "Let me see what Simmons writes." And you know what? He nailed it. His comeback piece after 9/11 - solid. His spelling bee piece - anyone who can make a spelling bee that funny gets a free pass from me for a while. The thing is - I read his stuff for fun. If I get a kick out of a few things that's more than anyone else gives me. The painful thing is reading someone trying to be him that truly does suck.
I could go on about how you shouldn't "that guy" the guy who 'invented' "that guy" (pretty soon you'll want to add the I Hate BIll Simmons Face to the Pantheon), or how you shouldn't hate on a guy for trying to entertain people with what entertains him (if you have better stories, please do share - i'm always up for a story). I could point out that just because you don't like him, doesn't mean he's no good, or that the fact that he parlayed reporting on his watching tv playing video games into a worldwide forum probably indicates quite to opposite, but I think its all pretty obvious.

Great article. I despise Bill Simmons. I love how someone made the (refuted in your article) argument that, he's popular, therefore he's good. Blue Collar TV, Limp Bizkit, and Paris Hilton have all proven you can be popular, sometimes immensely popular, and still contribute nothing to your chosen artistic medium. Years from now (or even now) no one will argue that Limp Bizkit contributed anything positive to musical history. Yet at one time they were one of the most popular groups on earth. The same goes for Reality TV, and Bill Simmons. His insipid, no format is a format, no talent is cutting edge, throw every random thought on paper and pretend it's an article style of writing is a fad, borne of our age of media obsession with blogging and ESPN's fascination with making their network and website as appealing as possible to the casual sports fan with no regard for their passionate sports fan base. Good writing is good writing, there are plenty of good sports writers out there - check out an issue of Sports Illustrated for example. ESPN sucks. Bill Simmons sucks, and more importantly his "writing" sucks. Commercial radio sucks because one company owns almost all of it. They control what you hear. They pump the same bland formulaic stuff into your ears day after day and you start to find it catchy, then you start to believe it's good music. ESPN is a monopoly, and so is their website, for better or worse. And they pump awful programming and awful writing down our throats because, generally, we have nowhere else to turn.

I hated his last column on Peyton Manning so much I finally did it and decided just to stop reading, not worth it. I googled I hate Bill Simmons and this popped up. Brillant. Totally brillant. All of my assorted Simmons rants made coherent and written down. I'm linking to it from everything.

So the author needs "credibility" from you, TK, before he can dislike someone? I don't think so. And Dan McCarthy isn't the only one bashing Simmons on the Web but I'm sure none of them have any credibility either, right, TK? Sorry people picked on your man-crush but he really is played out now and more haughty than ever.

shut up loser. I don't care if you go to Stanford, there are tens of thousands, even more, who check to see if he has a new column everyday. Bill Simmons is the man, any cool dude would wanna hang with this guy. You are an exception, however.

I LOVE IT! How do people get so worked up over an internet sportswriter? Of course everyone has a right to their opinion, but Dan, it does just sound like jealousy when your remarks are so subjective. My opinion is that Simmons isn't as good as he used to be but he's still more entertaining than most every other sports writer in print and on the net, there's just no way he can be as fresh and original as he was five years ago. Of course ESPN is going to milk his popularity for every cent he is worth. I get CSPAN 2 on my cable, I don't like it and it's pretty easy to avoid, so I don't let my blood pressure go up over it, I'd try that with sportswriters, if I were an knowledgeable, experienced college undergrad like you.

Bill Simmons is amazing. There is a reason that he is writing for ESPN.com and you guys are all on this stupid ass website talking about him. You're just jealous. And this Dan McCarthy character is a total fucking idiot.

Simmons COULD be a great sportswriter in the traditional sense, but that is not what his employer wants him to be. They WANT him to be the sarcastic, frat-boyish, pop- culture referencing "funny-man" who appeals massively to the 18-35 y/o sports fan demographic that is, after-all, ESPN's primary audience. He is obviously quite good at what he does since everybody and their brother reads him at work/school to break up the monotony of their day and get a few chuckles. He has chosen entertainment and commerce over "art", and everybody should know that by now. There's nothing wrong with his decision. I liken him to a comedic actor such as Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler. They can keep making $20 Mill/picture playing buffoons in inane comedies (which they happen to be great at) or they can veer off and try to gain "artistic" respect and recognition by becoming "serious" actors/artists. I think pretty much everyone prefers "Dumb and Dumber" over "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Anybody who has ever read any of Simmons' more "serious" work such as the Len Bias or Larry Legend pieces from a few years ago knows that he does possess the talent to be a top notch writer if he chose to do so. He's making the big money for his family now while he's hot. Mostly everyone would do the same thing if put in his position. Maybe when he's 45-50 y/o he'll become the Pulitzer Prize winner many of you seem to want him to become.

Seriously

You are a junior in College that pampers to wealthy America, i know i have been there, you couldnt relate to 95% of America, much less, 99% of the sports world. You havent accomplished anything....try building something first and then look around to judge your competition...

How can you be a judgemental Turd at this stage in your life....i am not even that big of a fan of Bill Simmons, but i am proponent of success stories from little guys..and he started from a blog 10 years ago..for i was a little guy fighting the big boys in corporate america for 10 years and i am glad to say i made it.....if he is the most read internet writer, then he is doing something right in regards to his audience..so atleast acknowledge the good while ripping someone...Sounds like you are jealous of the guy more then anything....thank god your are just writing for a college and dont have to worry about reading your shit when i wake up in the morning on the way to my office.....

I truly don't understand your animosity towards Bill Simmons. Did he steal your girlfriend or something? If you hate him so much, why don't you just stop reading his stuff? I mean, seriously, do you walk down the street and trash the guy who works at Jiffy Lube? Maybe you don't like the way he changes your oil. That's fine -- though I don't think he deserves to be verbally abused as a result. Perhaps you should just stick to worrying about yourself.

I think you need to look in the mirror pal.You yourself are a "type".The type of kid who writes for a college paper and writes about Bill Simmons,c'mon pal we get it.Obviously not much is going on in the world if this is what your writing about. You just wrote an entire article making the same exact point over and over and over and over again that may have well been one paragraph.I find Bill Simmons columns entertaining.If I'm looking for genius insight I'll read Peter Gammons if I'm looking for a view of sports scenarios from a relatable guy then I'll read Bill Simmons.I mean it's been said before if you don't liek his stuff then don't read it and dont waste your time writing about how boring his writing is!

I am not a big Simmons fan. I used to enjoy his columns now I don't. When you write "Words cannot describe the ineffable crappiness of that production."
You are saying, "words cannot describe its indescribable crappiness, but by using the word 'crappiness' you are using a word to describe it.
If you are going to criticize a writer in print, you should at least know what the words you are using mean and how to use them.

@Matt

Nice work there. He would have probably only been eight years old but feel free to continue paying out on him. Imagine, an eight year old without a green polo shirt? C'mon, he deserves everything you dish at him. No really, you're a great guy.

Oh, and don't let anyone tell you that still living with your mother when you're in your late thirties is 'loser-ish'. You're simply waiting for 'that big break' which I suspect is just around the corner for a winner like you. But in the mean time, have fun trolling for underage girls on myspace. Loser.

Simmons is hilarious. If you don't like him, don't read him. He appeals to a HUGE number of people---consistently the most visited part of EPSN's website--so he's not going anywhere anytime soon!

And being a Simmons fan I was curious who this guy was who ripped him so bad. Then I read anothe rone of his articles and saw this....."I want to shave my head in celebration of the women’s tennis team’s third national championship in four years."

Enough said. Dork.

This article must be hurting your career. And it should for bashing a fellow writer. He is just living his life and doing what he does best. These "haters" out there need to stop worrying about him and worry about yourself and what you need to do to better your career and end up successful like Simmons. Like him or not, he is doing well.

I thought it was great how Dan wrote the article and revisited it 2 years later. There is nothing wrong with shitting on Simmons, or any writer for that matter, but it has to be well informed. Bill consistently brings up people who blog against him, say how much he sucks, but don't add anything new. His point is always this: its easy to say how much I suck, but where is the original writing? I think Dan kind of answered that question but coming back two years later and saying if he could "unwrite one article this would be the one."
I think its easy to stand here and say that someone is a terrible writer. Everyone does that, in fact. But I also think its also incredibly hard to write 3 quality articles a week, or even a month, for that matter. Was he better before? Sure. He would probably tell you that too. His job is really difficult, and if he writes something that sucks (ie. his draft article this year) he calls himself out on it.
The thing that I think the haters are missing is that he isn't writing 'War in Peace.' These are articles of opinion on sports that are supposed to provoke discussion- both good and bad. And in his genre, the one is basically started, I would put him up against anyone. Also give the guy some f-ing credit, he went from internet columnist back when the internet was just beginning, to a very successful writer who is paid. He had the foresight of the power of the internet, and you can't take that away from him. When I read his articles, I take them for they are. He isn't trying to win a Pulitzer. And when he does write an article on a serious subject, its is usually pretty well thought out. The guy has a dream job. He wakes up at noon and writes about sports while getting the privledges of being ESPN.com's #1 guy.
But who cares what I think? Ask someone like Mike Wilbon or David Stern. They certainly respect him.

i sense jealousy

im gay

While I do dislike that he keeps going off-topic with garbage reports on TV shows and whatnot, his sports writing is still top-shelf. More importantly, however, is the fact that McCarthy made a comment about the Sports Gal. That was ridiculous and uncalled for. You are a lesser journalist for it, and if you were popular enough for me to spot on the street, I would probably bitch-slap you for it. You're entitled to your opinion about a fellow writer, but don't slam his wife to appear edgier.

Not everything has to be life and death...he is a great read..he knows sports like a fan...knows what fans like..and has identified with his fans ....
No sense to knock people down to make your self feel better. Enjoy the ride...I hope one day , a quarter of the people that enjoy Bill's writing, even have read one of your "blogs"

Let it go man.....or maybe you need to go hang out with
Patrick Ewing , "The girls danced, started fondling me, I got aroused, they performed oral sex, I hung around a little bit and talked to them, then I left."

The only people that defend Sports guy want to hang in his "crew" and get totally drunk and make fun of people, the something that happened to them in highschool

I agree with Mike, just let it go and move on with something more interesting.

who ever wrote this is a piece of shit. Go fuck yourself.

I would surmise the reason a Dan McCarthy would take the time writing an anti-Simmons rant isn't some inherent "jealous" as so many of you have written. Rather, it's the venom the pro-Simmons crowd spews that inspires such disdain for Simmons, by proxy. I know personally I have had discussions with people who ask me if I read Simmons. When I say "no, I don't care for his style," it's as if I went on some personal attack of them. Almost as if his fans feel they need validation for reading his work.

Chris he has been writing for over ten years, he has not faded away at all you idiot! Why did he not fade away into obscurity when the Pats and Red Sox were not winning?

I'm only responding because I see Jack did an hour ago, which is a miracle considering how old and crappy this article is. Needless to say, the great 'dan mccarthy' is now a more common household name than Bill Simmons. BTW- as soon as he stopped working for jimmy kimmel and actually had time to write, his column re-emerged as the best anything column around.

i love this article so much that i read it over and over. i think it is brilliant. anyone who hates on the author of this article for being smart or going to stanford is a moron. you are just another drone that thinks whatever espn promotes or has to offer is awesome, just like the mtv faithful. you probably used to love the "i love week 15" sports center montages that were meant to be a spin off of those haneous coors light commercials. either that or you are some mass-hole supah-fan

Simmons is so lame. He's not funny at all. Waaaay overplayed. Thanks for the novelty act. Now move on.

Simmons is actually still quite good when he actually takes the time to do his job. But he can't even beat his very bright (and clever) wife on the over/under & his humor is basically dried up. Look, I used to be a wacky college guy. I'm not anymore. I have a sense of humor & I pull out the occasional Miyagi-style riff. But I bloody well know that my joints & prose ain't playin' these days without a healthy snort of Naproxen Sodium. Grow up, Bill. You're jokes aren't funny any longer. You're smart and a good analyst. Maybe if you got in the habit of leading with brains & riffing with wit, you could be in the Halberstam or Wiley category. Too much too ask, but it would be nice.
Excellent piece, btw.

You guys reacted to this article like old boy committed blasphemy. I hope all this post got you good grade. Simmons is awesome.

Steve I was wondering if you would like to scheadule a tea time sometime soon. No I did not mean golf. After I was hoping we can go buy some white sweaters and tie them around or necks and go for a walk!

Personally, I'm a huge Bill Simmons fan and heartily disagreed with the article. That being said, the author, or someone pretending to be Dan Mac, posted that this was a big mistake in retrospect. I mean, he was a college junior at the time. Give him a break. You want to find a megalomanic; you go find a college junior. Stand-up move by Dan to renege. Journalism isn't easy, and "good" is a subjective. A concept that most people, let alone college kids, have yet to grasp.

I agree with Squall. He was really fun to read on 'the day after'. So great. He was actually eating a little crow if you can believe that. Curious, however, if he will continue to tone down his arrogance when it comes to the Pats.

I think its great that people have been commenting on this article for the last two years. That's all.

P.S. I LIKE Bill Simmons - but I LOVE his wife!

Simmons is usaully a good read, as long as he is not writing about the Pats, Sox, or Celtics. He has zero objectivity when it comes to these subjects.

Things they teach you at wanna-be Ivy League schools like Stanford: "If you want people to read your article online in a vain attempt to make a name for yourself, write an arrogant, opinion column with no discernable facts sucker-punching a popular columnist that a great number of people regularly google." Now that's $160k well spent!

Enough already,two years and still this one blog is still going,to the author that started this rant, completely disagree with your rant, yes i read him weekly and yes agree with 95% of his conclusions and yes, he should be viewed as the freshest sports columnist in the past five year's, so until you write something of relevence, keep you comment's the campus crowd....where thier not listening.