**YOUTUBE VIDEO REVIEWS ON THE HOTTEST ELECTRONICS OUT**…

First, I think you and a lot of other commentators are misrepresenting Simmons’s argument about Ali/Woods. His argument had nothing to do with the respective reasons for initial absence from sport, but solely on the respective comebacks. Ali’s absence was without question more difficult, but that’s not what the prompt is. Olberman, you and many others are arguing against a point that Simmons never made. I suggest you go back and read the column he penned again. I’m not claiming he’s correct in his argument, but people need to at least address the actual argument, not the one they find easier to attack.

Second, from a business perspective, it doesn’t matter if Simmons loses some of his audience if he choses to leave ESPN. If he controls the online “empire” he’s cultivated over the last decade, he’ll stand to make exponentially more money than he does at ESPN. Plus, he’ll have unlimited creative freedom and an existence outside the ESPN bubble.

Third, we shouldn’t expect or even want Simmons to have the same writing style he did when he was ten years younger. Simply looking at the changes in life between then and now (wife, kids, age, money) it would be false for him to write about the same topics and in the same manner as he once did. If you’re looking for the same amount of frat-humor he once had, then obviously you won’t find his writing as essential anymore, but I don’t think you’d find an inauthentic persona any more palatable. Writers only succeed when they present their work with authenticity.

Anyway, enjoy the podcast, keep up the good work.

Who knows.

Olbermann’s motivations for discussing supposed conversations/emails with ESPN personnel… you could build an entire segment around this (though every answer seems to point back to self-serving motive).

You also noted Simmons could be “on Dancing With the Stars down the road… that’s how big his star could shine, if he stays with ESPN.” I would think his stardom would rise without ESPN… his good friend Adam Carolla has built his own podcast network that would serve as the perfect home to take that Simmons stage to the next level (Carolla’s numbers are rather strong, Simmons would be free of the constraints that seem to be his primary source of disdain for ESPN… with Adam’s own success with his podcast, one could argue the thought of eventually bringing Simmons in served as motivation to take a jump to being a “network” with plans to build a menu of shows… you just have to wait for your star and that wait isn’t so long).

He can still write best sellers… the network he’s built on the west coast through the Kimmel/Carolla connections (not to mention connects he’s made while at the Worldwide Meter) would be looking to collaborate with his name and audience…

Take a look at the guy he’s fighting with (Olbermann), or Dan Patrick, or Rich Eisen… that story has already been written and it seems to suggest leaving ESPN is a path to happiness and, if done right, a better bank balance (& he wouldn’t have to dance on primetime).

Or Morey can bring him in to write 150,000-word player profiles for the Rockets’ media guide while serving as assistant GM.

What has hurt him isn’t that he can’t call Chris Berman fat anymore; it’s that his lists and live blogs and pop culture references are now what everyone on the internet tries to do.

As for respect within the industry, how much do you think that takes away from his value as a writer? Most readers are reading him on a piece by piece basis. Some things they like, some things they don’t.

Same goes for Reilly or Stephen A. Smith. The average person probably doesn’t know about the blackberry column. But they might know Smith because he’s the one who broke this Iverson story.

Simmons is always going to draw eyes and even if he has lost some respect from the industry, I’m sure the industry would still appreciate a link from his twitter account.

Cossell was also smart, but between him and Olberman I think Howard would have been the more obnoxius.

Also on curling – I had thought I heard in a curler interview on MSNBC or something during the Olympics that the Olympic Curling team wasn’t going to the Championships. I understood they had been invited but were a little burned out to go on the heels of the Olympics.

I could be wrong but could have sworn I saw that.

Good stuff as always guys.

When the Kornheiser suspension went down and Deadspin said it was more about Berman than Hannah Storm, they also mentioned that Berman, Simmons and Erin Andrews are all in the last year of their contracts. Now Berman and Andrews are replaceable and can be let go. Simmons isn’t just because of the traffic he drives to their website. (Of the three of them, Simmons does the least for ESPN networks)
However Berman and Andrews can leave and land on their feet elsewhere. I’m not sure Simmons can. Right now, Simmons is the alpha dog on ESPN.com. Would he still be that if he went somewhere else? Or how does he react if where he goes has one or two or several better writers and he finds himself chasing them all the time?

Food for thought…