While I no longer subscribe to Sports Illustrated and now purchase it from newsstands, there was a point in time where I read the weekly magazine from back to front. Why? Rick Reilly. Each week, I was hooked on his every word, that is, until he left SI for ESPN, and well, I just didn't have a subscription to ESPN the magazine because of my parents' money that does not, in fact, grow on trees.
Then I discovered ESPN.com. I was unable to kick my old habit. I checked back each day in the hopes of a new column (hey, it's the Internet - it's updated instantly). But in the midst of reading the "Life of Reilly," I discovered a new addiction. It came in the form of Bill Simmons.
He's the "Sports Guy." And quite frankly, sports writing needed a guy like him. Simmons brings frat boy humor to the house that Disney built. Sports needed him and we who actually care about sports needed him.
Why? Because sports shouldn't always be serious. It's a series of games and matches that aren't life or death. Those who write about them should, when appropriate, bring humor into the game. That's what Simmons does, but virtually 24/7.
So, essentially, Simmons' monthly mailbag columns are to me, a sportswriter, as cigarettes are to a chain smoker. Don't expect me to quit anytime soon.
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