Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports columnist, analyst, author, and podcaster. He currently is the Editor-in-Chief for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He also contributes columns and podcasts to the website. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Nicknamed The Sports Guy, formerly The Boston Sports Guy, Simmons gained the attention of ESPN with his web site, BostonSportsGuy.com, which earned him a job offer in 2001. Since joining ESPN in 2001, in addition to writing for ESPN.com, he has also hosted his own podcast on ESPN.com titled The B.S. Report, appeared as a special contributor on the television series E:60, is co-creator and serves as an executive producer of ESPN's documentary project, 30 for 30. He also has written two books. On June 8, 2011, Simmons launched Grantland.com, an online magazine for which he serves as Editor-in-chief. At this point he began publishing his Sports Guy columns and B.S. Report podcasts on Grantland, which are then linked to from ESPN.com. Simmons is known for his style of writing which is characterized by mixing sports knowledge and analysis, pop culture references, his non-sports-related personal life, and for being written from the viewpoint of a passionate sports fan. Simmons also has created numerous internet memes, most notably the Ewing Theory (though he claims he did not come up with the idea ) and the Manning Face. In 2007, he was named the 12th-most influential person in online sports by the Sports Business Journal, the highest position on the list for a non-executive. In 2012, Simmons became a member of the NBA Countdown pregame show on ESPN/ABC replacing Chris Broussard.