Pretty much. Ardent podcast people will throw WTF and Serial out as examples of the peak of the genre, but those aren’t really representative examples. Most podcasts consist of people aimlessly talking and thinking it’s all gold.

ESPN was still fumbling for content after the Playmakers fiasco. They hadn’t given up on the idea of being a content creator. Remember The Bronx is Burning? So Simmons was arguing that ESPN shouldn’t cede the sports documentary terrain to HBO, which was the genesis of 30 for 30. Kudos to him, but I short of its…

Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I don’t get why Deadspin covers Bill Simmons’ comings and goings so religiously. Grantland is a dud of a site with totally forgettable, self-indulgent takes on pop culture, and hit-or-miss sports reporting.

Do you actually read Grantland? Even when Bill was on the site, it wasn’t interesting, aside from the occasional long piece about some sports item. The cultural reporting there was awful. It loses money for ESPN, but Simmons’ self-regard is such that he thinks ESPN should have thrown good money after bad.

30 for 30 has become insufferable. It was nice in its first run, but a Christian Laettner documentary?! Docs about Kevin Johnson and George Bush throwing out a first pitch? Pretty soon, 30 for 30 will be breathlessly documenting the time Chris Berman couldn’t get a Twix out of the vending machine on the ESPN campus in…

Yeah, I’m not sure why anyone cares what happens to Bill Simmons. The only memorable thing he’s produced are some epic blog posts about his own reactions to sports. He’s an utterly forgettable TV presence. His takes on pop culture are a dime a dozen.

They’re making up for not punishing Jung Ho Kang’s assailant prior to the postseason. Chris Coghlan shouldn’t be playing baseball either for a while:

KFC originally approached Marvel for the promo comic, but one of their characters was really not into the whole plantation-chic aesthetic:

It’s not legal. It’s thoroughly against the rules.

Ohhhh, Cleveland Mike. I wish I could share your enthusiasm, but I know that, come 8 1/2 months, Kevin Love’s arm will be ripped out of its socket, or MJ will make a buzzer-beater, or Earnest Byner will fumble on the 3, or Sam Rutigliano will call Red Right 88, or Jose Mesa will blow the save. I know better than to…

I say this as a diehard Cleveland fan, someone who grew up loathing the Steelers with every fiber of my being: Pity the Pirates!

This reminds me of Chris Lee’s “metal” albums. Although, Lee was a little more committed to the genre than Pope Francis, who appears to be simply allowing his speeches to be sampled.

It’s like he walked off an episode of Mr. Robot. He’s a perfect corporate villain. Too bad fsociety is not real.

Fantasy has ruined football. The Draft Kings and Fan Duel blitzkrieg on every commercial break is the latest symptom of the problem. But the NFL openly courted this as a way of expanding their (ahem) “fan base”, and the emphasis on offensive statistics in fantasy scoring meant that the NFL has rejiggered their game to…

Whitlock is a tool, but he’s right about Coates needing an editor.

Definitely not. As a matter of fact, NYers put up with more shitty food than most people, in my view. When food here is great, it’s great, but your average NYer’s bagel is a shitty, mealy, carb bomb.

I wouldn’t disagree with you, unless you are saying that the dirt bikes have any correlation with guns and violence.

Are they not supposed to? White people are everywhere in NYC. It’s kind of unremarkable.

Oh, maybe I didn’t say that well. I said that “I’d love to have a dirt bike park for them,” and I meant that. I just think the idea that said park would keep them off the streets is incorrect.

I don’t know about that. I’ve seen the guys in Baltimore do it too. There’s this one wheelie they both do where it seriously looks like they are going to flip over backwards. It looks physically impossible, but they do it all the time.