Simmons is a humorist, people need to stop taking him so seriously. The time you should even consider him an analyst is if he is talking about the NBA, though even his NBA material has been pretty weak lately, probably because the Celtics are finally relevant again.

I like JoPo just fine...but I like Simmons and Whitlock a hell of a lot more.

Whitlock is hit or miss a lot, but I think he's a very good columnist.

Everybody bashes on ESPN...and I think SportsCenter pretty much blows these days...but Rome is Burning, PTI...those are good shows. ATH is also a pretty good show even though I despise Jay Mariotti...

I like Simmons because he doesn't come across as arrogant...and I don't think Whitlock does, either...they both call themselves out when they get one wrong, the majority of the time. Simmons bashes himself like crazy.

I don't like Mariotti because he's all propaganda and thinks he's bigger than the game, same with Skip Bayless.

Those guys should be hated...but most people on this board hate any writer or broadcaster etc. etc. etc. just because they are totally cynical and know-it-alls blah blah blah...this board depresses me an awful lot. I think I'm going to cut myself.

that dude knows the NBA...

I thought when he was trying to convince the owner of the Bucks to make him the GM it might have actually worked...

He truly is one of the seventeen remaining NBA fans on this planet.

His NBA material is good, but you're just crazy if you think he has any of the skills or experience needs to be an actual GM. Being a clever sports writer has little to do with running an actual franchise.

I actually like Simmons, which is odd considering I absolutely loath anything to do with Boston sports. Well, except the Pats for some reason.

I really couldn't agree more. Simmons is one of the best NBA writers alive, and if you take him with a grain of salt, he's hilarious when writing about non Red Sox or Patriot-related items.

Mariotti is a ****ing scumbag and Skip Bayless really knows nothing about sports. Nothing. He's just an attention whore who says outlandish things to get himself on camera.

Whitlock is one of the most thoughtful columnists around, and although he's wrong at times, he is willing to admit it, an he provokes discussion through insight rather than just wanton dumbassery.

Seriously, it's an NBA GM. You watch tape, evaluate players first hand. Five guys are on the court at once, and no more than 8-9 receive any significant PT. There are no farm systems of substance, and all players have slotted contracts.

Anyone with an eye for talent and an IQ above 110 could perform that job and the cap-related responsibilities.

Nonetheless, no love was given to the Chiefs from FOX throughout that whole season.

They were an AFC team. FOX covers the NFC.

JoPo is not just a great sportswriter, he's a great writer period. He churns out writing on his blog every other day that is just plain better than the vast, vast majority of prose published in literary journals today. If anything, Posnanski is under appreciated.

FOX does do highlights from games that cross conferences, yes?

Yeah, with the other broadcasting network's logo still on the highlight.

It's still not easy to evaluate NBA players, manage the cap, or have the savy to negotiate and make trades. I see no reason to believe that Simmons could do any of these things. There is a reason there are so many shitty NBA GMs, it isn't an easy job. Yeah, the NBA has fewer players than an NFL team and the draft isn't as important, but that doesn't mean a sports writer could do the job.

It's the easiest of the major sports by far, and top 5 players are far less risky in the NBA than any other sport. All teams employ "capologists", and trades are actually pretty simple to make in a league with a soft cap where teams often want to dump salary and you only need to be within 25% of each other's salaries. Furthermore, you can spend more than anyone else to keep your own free agents.

Just because it's an old boys club filled with idiots and shitty managers doesn't mean it's hard.

Good to hear she's doing OK. Has she found the gum on the carpet yet?

I understand what you're saying but I don't know, it's harder to assemble a championship roster in the NBA I think. You can make the playoffs, but it's a lot different to try and make an actual run for a title. You can easily end up with guys that are almost untradeable (Marbury for instance, or T-Mac. I guarantee the Rockets would love to trade him but they can't. No one wants a max deal guy that doesn't drive the lane anymore and shoots fadeaways, if he's not hurt that is). And you can ship guys in trades but a lot of times you end up trading turd for turd. I think I'd rather be an NFL GM, where for the most part if you have a guy on your roster that sucks you can just cut him. In the NBA you can have Vin Baker collecting 14 million and playing 12 minutes for a whole year.