Ah, Bill Simmons aka ESPN's The Sports Guy. To know him is to either love him or hate him. To those that love him, his constant pop-culture riffs and irreverent takes on today's athletes make him seem like one of us: a fan. To those that would rather see him deleted from ESPN's archives, he's a Boston sports homer whose schtick has long since worn thin. Us? We love the guy. While his writing occasionally comes across as just a tad too jokey (sometimes undermining some good points), we can dismiss his homerism - at least he's honest and upfront about it - he's producing an entertaining podcast, he's doesn't suffer for a lack of passion, and he definitely knows sports, particularly basketball. more ›

We all know how iconic the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off is for the city of Chicago. The exploits of the potential felon truant student and his pals is a comedy we'll always remember, especially given the recent death of John Hughes. But...is everything the trio did in a day really possible? One of our favorite sports columnists, ESPN's Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy, posed that very question in his most recent mailbag. more ›

The Los Angeles Clippers came away the big winner after last night's NBA Draft lottery. It was only the second time in 11 years that the Bulls didn't have a ping pong ball in play, but that doesn't mean they might not profit. According to the Trib's K.C. Johnson: more ›

Could Chicago have become a routine host of the Super Bowl and the Final Four? Crain's Ed Sherman seems to think so, saying the city should have built a new stadium with a retractable roof rather than renovating Soldier Field.

Instead of building the Space Ship by the Lake, the city should have constructed a domed (preferably retractable) stadium. A Super Bowl and a few Final Fours would have helped pay for the extra expense. more ›

We're just hours away from the Cubs opening their playoff series with the Dodgers. On ESPN's SportsCenter, "writer"/personality Rick Reilly had some fun toying with Cubs fans' emotions and the Cubs streak of "curses." Like Bill Simmons, we think curses are nothing more than gimmicks used to rile up fans and sell papers and books, but it's worth a look, if only for the historical aspect. The piece seems to be tongue-in-cheek and, well, we guess our posting of it means it worked. more ›

Yesterday, ESPN nixed an interview with presidential candidate Barack Obama. The interview was to take place with Bill Simmons, ESPN.com's most popular columnist, for his weekly podcast. It was the second time in recent weeks that ESPN has canceled an interview with Obama. The sports and politics blogosphere is abuzz with conspiracy theories, mainly pertaining to the fact that ESPN President George Bodenheimer donated $1,000 to the McCain campaign. more ›