Comments on Dan Shanoff: Bill Simmons vs. Stephen Colbert

New comment...old post, people always said I was a...

2007-02-16T22:04:52.059-05:00

New comment...old post, people always said I was a bit slow, I just thought they meant I suck at running.

So they say that those who don't have the right presence on tv....do radio. Those who don't have the voice.....write. What happens when you don't have the presence, and don't have the voice.....you turn into Shannon Sharpe on the CBS Half Time Show.

I'm happy to see that Bill at least hung in there.

-t

I'm currently reading Simmons' chat on 9/27. He wa...

2006-09-27T14:29:44.286-04:00

I'm currently reading Simmons' chat on 9/27. He was asked about being on the Colbert Report. His response: "I really enjoyed it, Colbert was a nice guy, I liked him. It's a tough show to do because the guest is basically the straight man, so I just didn't want to make a fool out of myself. It was funny to get the emails about it - some people thought I did great, others thought it was a complete apocalypse. it was probably somewhere in between. i mean, have you ever watched a late night talk show? just about every interview is exceedingly awkward... it's like watching 2 people on a bad first date. this is why my friend Jimmy hasn't slept in four years. five nights a week, he has 2 bad first dates in front of an audience."
As a long time reader, this was the first time I saw him for an extended period of time on TV, but I had seen him before so his voice didn't shock me... as much. He definitely seemed uncomfortable, like he was afraid to be the guy he is when he writes articles.

I e-mailed Simmons after this interview and compar...

2006-09-18T11:27:41.923-04:00

I e-mailed Simmons after this interview and compared his performance to Michael Olawakandi (but ahead of Daunte Culpepper).
It was such a disappointment. The only good line was the Clinton throwing like a girl

Finally had a chance to watch my Tivo'd copy. I d...

2006-09-16T10:56:32.493-04:00

Finally had a chance to watch my Tivo'd copy. I don't know if my expectations were set very low by all the comments here, but I didn't think he was that bad. I've certainly seen much worse, anyway. Like people that have no idea what they're getting into or people that decide they don't want to play along with Colbert's shtick. At least Bill was on the same page as Colbert.

Again, this is probably because I was expecting much worse, but I thought his voice was pretty normal.

I am just glad we finally got to see the Bill "I a...

2006-09-16T09:31:55.823-04:00

I am just glad we finally got to see the Bill "I am on the Colbert Report" Simmons face.

I'm with marcomarco on the flip flops. In general...

2006-09-16T08:21:20.210-04:00

I'm with marcomarco on the flip flops. In general I hate when people say Boston fans like being miserable. Uh, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. As a Red Sox fan I enjoy winning and I like being happy. Maybe that's abnormal for a Sox fan, I don't know, but most people I know enjoy winning.

The bottom line with Bill Simmons after reading hi...

2006-09-16T07:55:48.733-04:00

The bottom line with Bill Simmons after reading him now for over a decade... He can not think on his feet! He needs the comfort of being
able to collect his thoughts, edit,
review and then confirm with others
pre-publication.

Obviously these resources are not
available when working on TV or Radio. Some of his early interviews on Boston radio were
almost moronic. Some of his readers
opined that there were two "Boston
Sports Guy(s)" and that the one on
the interview was probably illiterate and not the same guy who posted online.

Bill has passed his expiration date and is becoming less and less relevant. Time for a change.

Oh, and Bill on YouTube (via Deadspin).

2006-09-15T22:03:45.486-04:00

Oh, and Bill on YouTube (via Deadspin).

Bill Simmons copied Chuck Klosterman with the 18 y...

2006-09-15T22:02:00.843-04:00

Bill Simmons copied Chuck Klosterman with the 18 year olds playing for USA basketball, miracle on ice comment. And no citation?

Just watched that on ComedyCentral.I can't believe...

2006-09-15T18:48:22.766-04:00

Just watched that on ComedyCentral.

I can't believe he acutally validated/pimped "The Curse" after objecting to it so vehemently in the past. He was #1 on the Shaugnassy-bashers list.

Talk about a flip flop.

Then he claims that Boston fans enjoy being miserable and everything has returned to normal this season?

I'm hoping it was just TV nerves, because if it wasn't, he just lost all credibility.

I just watched the interview on ComedyCentral.com,...

2006-09-15T17:49:45.220-04:00

I just watched the interview on ComedyCentral.com, and I agree with everyone that has said Simmons is slightly awkward on television. He looked absolutely terrified before the interview even began.

And I don't know if you sneezed and missed it or what, but Colbert and Simmons shook hands just before the book was mentioned again at the end.

it's up on comedy central's web site right now. Da...

2006-09-15T16:41:28.030-04:00

it's up on comedy central's web site right now.

Dan -- Simmons actually reminds me a lot of you on TV. I think both of you are brillant on the web, but it just doesn't translate well. someone people have "it" and others don't. and that's cool.

truth be told, i don't like reading kornhier, but his TV is great. There's a columnist in detroit, wojo, and his columns are terrible, but he is fantastic on the radio.

Troy Pratten said... But for any true geeks out t...

2006-09-15T15:27:02.883-04:00

Troy Pratten said...
But for any true geeks out there, seeing Simmons on TV still isn't half as jarring as the first time you see images/videos of Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade.

quoted for truth... that has to be up there as one of the most jarring differences

Thanks Dan for doing this runnign diary ... I had ...

2006-09-15T14:47:37.450-04:00

Thanks Dan for doing this runnign diary ... I had no ways of watching the show.

RevScottDeMangeMD, I read SG because I think he is a good writer and funny.

Someone needs to youtube this... It's not on the C...

2006-09-15T14:06:05.516-04:00

Someone needs to youtube this... It's not on the ComedyCentral video's yet. Last one is Ken Jennings vs. Stephen Colbert

I've said it before and I'll say it again - for lo...

2006-09-15T13:36:15.396-04:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again - for loyalists to Simmons from the Digital City Boston days he has become our Brett Favre.

Seriously I make apologies for him all the time but the truth of the matter is - he lost his fastball about 4 or 5 years ago and everytime I'm about to give up on him I remember the good old days and I keep crawling back for more.

I remember his first TV appearance on I think Channel 7 and his voice was just awful - so high pitched and he was so nervous. I will say he was better then that last night but like you say - going on Colbert is really tough, more tough than Jon Stewart in my opinion because of the things Steven is likely to say.

I remember in a Simmons mailbag article a few year...

2006-09-15T13:24:55.133-04:00

I remember in a Simmons mailbag article a few years back, someone asked him why he never did TV or radio, and Bill admitted that his style adapts better in print than on-air.

I met him about a year ago on the tour after the book came out, and although he was extremely nice, he wasn't cracking any jokes or making any witty comments like people expected. Still nice to meet the man behind the ingenious sports/pop culture writing.

Dan, I think you nailed the main point of this, wh...

2006-09-15T13:13:35.610-04:00

Dan, I think you nailed the main point of this, which is that going on Colbert is really, really tough for just about anyone, because, as you said, you're gonna have to be the straight guy. His humor often works best with politicians, who are so oblivious to the jokes that they walk right into them. With writers like Simmons, there's less humor to be had in the first place...

Troy: i remember going to the first PAX and being pretty damn surprised at who the folks behind it were...

Troy: Indeed. What's up with that? Of course, co...

2006-09-15T13:07:50.990-04:00

Troy: Indeed. What's up with that? Of course, considering PA is such a geek site, should we be surprised that Mike and Jerry aren't as cool as Gabe and Tycho?

Deadspin has the youtube link. Also it must have b...

2006-09-15T13:06:24.983-04:00

Deadspin has the youtube link. Also it must have been hard early in the interview bill was cut off after ever 3 or 4 words and then at the end Colbert started to let him go even though bill was ready to get cut off.

But for any true geeks out there, seeing Simmons o...

2006-09-15T13:03:32.723-04:00

But for any true geeks out there, seeing Simmons on TV still isn't half as jarring as the first time you see images/videos of Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade.

Personally I think Simmons is pretty good in those...

2006-09-15T13:01:38.686-04:00

Personally I think Simmons is pretty good in those segments on bad movies he does with Adam Corolla, but that might just be me.

I think my problem with Bill's TV/Radio presence is his voice. It's a little too.. I think the word "weenie" was used. It's just kind of funny to me to hear that voice and try to reconcile it with the uber-macho "what is a girl doing in a fantasy league?!?!?!" tone his columns can take.

Oh..to answer the question: It doesn't affect how ...

2006-09-15T12:32:44.860-04:00

Oh..to answer the question: It doesn't affect how I view his writing. It's usually great stuff although he's losing a lot of tread when he ventures into Patriots territory. Bill is able to dress down the Red Sox...but he goes completely homer on the Patriots. That does get old.

I listened to the clips of him on Carolla's show a...

2006-09-15T12:31:46.896-04:00

I listened to the clips of him on Carolla's show and it's about the same. Bill just can't quite pull it off, and his voice is surprising.

It's funny how we ascribe a certain voice to people. WHen I saw Shanoff on ATH, it was totally not what I expected and he sounded funny too. Smarmy as well...kinda thought you were forcing it to out-Mariotti Mariotti.

Question...Do people read Simmons because they thi...

2006-09-15T12:30:57.006-04:00

Question...Do people read Simmons because they think he is a good writer and funny? Or do you think people read him because he is a Boston douchebag who makes you want to punch the computer and you ultimately punch a stranger instead. I'll take the 2nd one.