Tony Romo

Romo before the 2008 Pro Bowl
No. 9     Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1980-04-21) April 21, 1980 (age 32)
Place of birth: San Diego, California
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 226 lb (103 kg)
Career information
College: Eastern Illinois
Undrafted in 2003
Debuted in 2004 for the Dallas Cowboys
Career history
Dallas Cowboys (2003–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
3× Pro Bowl selection (2006, 2007, 2009) College awards and honors Ed Block Courage Award (2011)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Pass attempts 2,592 Pass completions 1,672 Percentage 64.5 TD-INT 149-72 Passing yards 20,834 QB Rating 96.9 Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo (born April 21, 1980) is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 96.9 - ranks second-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005. He replaced the Cowboys' previous starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe during a game against the New York Giants in the 2006 season.

Early years[link]

Romo was born in San Diego, California, while his father was serving in the United States Navy. His family returned to its home in Burlington, Wisconsin.^[1] Romo's athletic ability was evident even at an early age when he was selected for the Little League All-Star team.^[2]

Romo started as quarterback for the Burlington Demons beginning as a junior (1996 season). During his junior season, he led the Demons to a SLC Conference record of 7–2 and the WIAA^[3] playoffs. In the 1996 playoffs, Romo and the Demons defeated Greenfield^[4] 17-6 before trouncing Badger^[5] 41–16. Romo came within one game of the state championship game but fell short in a last-minute 16-15 loss to Cudahy.^[6] After the 1996 season, he received Honorable Mention in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-State Team.

Before his senior year of high school, BHS was realigned into the new SEC Conference along with the larger Racine and Kenosha metro schools. In the 1997 season, Romo and the Demons finished with a 3–6 record, though he earned several honors, including the All-Racine County football team, Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-State first team honors, as well as honors by the Racine Journal Times^[7] 1997 Player of the Year.

Romo was a multi-sport athlete during high school, and in addition to being a member of the football team, he also was a starter on the BHS varsity basketball team; he also played golf and tennis.

College career[link]

Romo played college football at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. As a sophomore in 2000, Romo ranked second in Division I-AA in passing efficiency, completing 164 of 278 (59%) passes for 2,583 yards and 27 touchdowns. After the season, he was honored as an All-America honorable mention, an All-Ohio Valley Conference member, and the OVC Player of the Year. As a junior, he led Division I-AA in passing efficiency, completing 138-of-207 passes for 2,068 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was selected to the AP All-America third team, All-Ohio Valley Conference first team and the OVC Player of the Year.

On December 19, 2002, Romo was the first player in Eastern Illinois and Ohio Valley Conference history to win the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the Nation's top player at the NCAA Division I-AA level. He finished his career holding school and conference records with 85 touchdown passes. His last college game was a playoff loss to Western Illinois University. He was second in school and third in conference history with 8,212 passing yards. He was also second in school history with 584 completions and 941 attempts. As a senior, he set school and conference records for completions with 258 in 407 attempts for 3,418 yards, ranked him second in conference and third in school history for a season. He threw for 34 touchdowns and scored one rushing touchdown. Romo's 3,149 yards in total offense as a senior ranked third in school and conference history. Along with the Walter Payton Award, Romo earned consensus All-America honors. He was also selected All-Ohio Valley Conference and was named OVC Player of the Year for the third straight year.

During homecoming weekend on October 17, 2009, Eastern Illinois University retired Romo's No. 17 jersey and inducted him in to EIU’s Hall of Fame. Romo is the first Eastern Illinois player to have his number retired. He said of the event, "It was such an honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame here, and with the jersey ceremony, it holds a special place in your heart."^[8][9]

Awards and honors[link]

• 3× All-OVC (2000–2002)
• 3× OVC Player of the Year (2000–2002)
• 3× All-American (2000–2002)
• Walter Payton Award (2002)

NFL career[link]

Dallas Cowboys[link]

Romo attended the 2003 NFL Combine, but, despite intriguing some scouts, went undrafted by any NFL team during the 2003 NFL Draft. Throughout the draft, Romo was assured by Sean Payton of the Cowboys' interest (Romo was also intensely pursued by former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan),^[10] and shortly afterwards was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Cowboys. Romo entered the 2003 training camp third on the Cowboys' depth chart behind Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson. In 2004, the Cowboys released quarterback Chad Hutchinson and signed veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde and traded a third round draft pick to the Houston Texans for quarterback Drew Henson. Romo faced being cut from the roster until Quincy Carter was released following allegations of substance abuse. After Vinny Testaverde's tenure in Dallas ended in 2005, the Cowboys signed veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the eighth starting quarterback for the Cowboys since 2000.

One of Romo's early career highlights was in 2004, when (as the third string QB) he rushed for the winning touchdown with six seconds left in a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. Elevated to the Cowboys' #2 quarterback in 2005, Romo had strong showings in the 2005 and 2006 pre-seasons. In the 2006 off-season, Sean Payton (now head coach of the New Orleans Saints), offered a third round draft pick for Romo, but Jerry Jones refused, asking for no less than a second round draft pick. Romo eventually took over the starting quarterback role from Drew Bledsoe during half time against the New York Giants on October 23, 2006.

2006 season[link]

Romo began the season as a backup to starter Drew Bledsoe. He took his first regular season snap at quarterback in a home game against the Houston Texans on October 15. His first NFL pass was a 33 yard completion to Sam Hurd. His only other pass of the game was a two-yard touchdown pass, his first in the NFL, to Terrell Owens.^[11]

One week later on October 23, 2006, Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe for the start of the second half of a game against the New York Giants. His first pass was tipped and intercepted. His game stats in only his second NFL appearance were: 14 completions on 25 attempts for 227 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown). Two days later, on October 25, Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells announced that Romo would be the Cowboys starting quarterback for the October 29 game against the Carolina Panthers on NBC Sunday Night Football, in Week 8 of the 2006 season. Romo led the Cowboys to victory in his first game as a starter, 35–14. In that game, Romo was Sunday Night Football's "Rock Star of the Game."

On November 19, 2006, Romo led the Cowboys past the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL's last unbeaten team. Romo completed 19 of 23 passes as the Cowboys topped the Colts 21–14. Four days later, Romo helped the Cowboys win in a Thanksgiving Day NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 38–10. Romo went 22-29 with 306 yards and five touchdown passes with no interceptions.^[12] For his performance, he was awarded FOX's Galloping Gobbler award as the Thanksgiving Day MVP.

Romo aided the Cowboys in clinching a playoff spot, the second since Bill Parcells became coach in 2003. He concluded the 2006 regular season with 220 completions on 337 pass attempts for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, with a passer rating of 95.1.

On January 6, 2007, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Qwest Field to play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild card playoff round. With the Cowboys down 21-20 and 1:19 left on the clock, Dallas attempted a 19-yard field goal. Romo botched the hold for the kicker by dropping the snap as he attempted to set it down. Romo then tried to run into the end zone for an impromptu touchdown, but was tackled at the one-yard line by Seattle defensive back Jordan Babineaux. Seattle took over on their own one yard line. It is unusual for a starting quarterback to be the team's holder since the backup quarterback or punter normally performs that task. Romo had the job because he had begun the season as the backup quarterback. Romo finished the 2006 season ranked seventh in the NFC in passing yards (2,903) and touchdown passes (19).

Romo played in the 2007 Pro Bowl after Drew Brees went down with an elbow injury and Marc Bulger was taken out. Romo threw one touchdown and one interception. Romo was the NFC's holder in the game.

2007 season[link]

Romo began the 2007 season with four touchdown passes and an additional touchdown rush, the first of his career, defeating the New York Giants 45–35 in the Cowboys' first game of the regular season, His 345 passing yards in Week 1 led the NFL. In Week 2, Romo threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns beating the Dolphins in Miami, ranking him seventh in passing yards and tied for second with six touchdown passes.^[13] Romo added 329 passing yards and two touchdown passes in the Cowboys' Week 3 34–10 win in Chicago. The following week, he passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a 35–7 win over the St. Louis Rams. He also ran for an additional touchdown. This brought his season totals to 1199 passing yards with 11 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

In Week 5 of the season on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, Romo threw five interceptions (four in the first half, two of which were returned for touchdowns), and lost a fumble. He is the second person in the history of Monday Night Football to throw five interceptions in a winning effort. The first person was his QB coach Wade Wilson. Nonetheless, he threw for 4,211 yards (third in the NFL) and 36 touchdown passes during the regular season (second only to Tom Brady). His 97.4 passer rating was good enough for fifth in the NFL behind Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, David Garrard, and Peyton Manning.

On October 29, Romo reached an agreement to a six-year, $67.5 million contract extension with the Cowboys.^[14]

On November 29 against the Green Bay Packers, in a game between 10–1 teams, Romo threw four touchdown passes (bringing his season total to 33), breaking Danny White's (29) record from 1983. On December 22 against the Carolina Panthers, Romo became the first Cowboys' quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season. Finally on December 30 against the Washington Redskins, Romo broke the Cowboys' season completions record with his 335th completion, a short pass to Jason Witten. The Cowboys finished the season with a 13-3 record.

In the Cowboys' January 13, 2008 Division playoff game against the New York Giants, Romo was unable to lead his team to a come-from-behind victory. On 4th down with less than half a minute and no timeouts left, Romo threw the ball into the endzone, but it was intercepted by Giants cornerback R. W. McQuarters, ensuring that the Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs with a 21–17 loss.

2008 season[link]

Tony Romo at the AT&T National

On September 7, 2008, Romo led the Cowboys to a 28–10 win over the Cleveland Browns in their season opener. Romo completed 24 of his 32 passes for a total of 320 yards and one touchdown. After the game, Romo required 13 stitches for a large gash on his chin that occurred during the 3rd quarter when linebacker Willie McGinest hit Romo in the chin with his helmet.^[15]

On September 15, 2008, Romo led the Dallas Cowboys to a 41–37 win against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second game of the 2008 season. Romo completed 21 of his 30 passes for a total of 312 yards and three touchdowns.^[16] The 54 combined points scored by the Cowboys and Eagles in the first half were the second most scored in a half during a Monday Night Football game.^[17]

Romo and the Cowboys would win their third straight before losing to the Washington Redskins, falling to 3–1. Following a win against the Cincinnati Bengals, Romo was injured in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys, under Brad Johnson, went 1–2 the next three games, falling to the St. Louis Rams, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and losing to the New York Giants.

In what became a de facto third playoff game for Romo shortly prior to its start, on December 28, 2008, Romo and the Cowboys failed to compete against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 44–6 loss.^[18] Romo committed three turnovers in the game and went 21/39 for 183 yards and no touchdowns.^[19] The loss dropped Romo's combined record in December to 5–8 and again raised questions concerning Romo's performance in games of consequence.^[20]

2009 season[link]

Tony Romo vs. Kansas City Chiefs - 2009

Romo led the Cowboys to a 34–21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their season opener. Romo completed 16 of his 27 passes for a then-career high 353 yards along with three touchdowns.^[21]

Romo and the Cowboys were defeated in week 2 against the New York Giants in the Cowboys home opener at their new Cowboys stadium. Romo completed 13 of 29 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. He also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown for the Giants. The loss led the media as well as other former Cowboys, including Pro Football Hall of Fame member Tony Dorsett, further criticizing Romo and his performances in big games.

Romo was quoted as saying, "We came out stale" against a Denver Bronco team that thoroughly shut down his teams passing and running attacks. But he was successful in completing a 53 yard pass to Sam Hurd at the end of the second half but failed on the following three plays to get the ball in the end zone which would have taken the game into overtime. He was quoted as saying, "we need to get better."

In a December road game against the division rival New York Giants, Romo passed for a career high 392 yards, along with three touchdown passes in a losing effort.

After several kicks were missed by kicker Nick Folk due to bad holds by punter Mat McBriar, Romo resumed holding duties for the first time since the 2006 in their 13th game of the season, versus the San Diego Chargers ^[22]

In week 15, Romo led the Cowboys to a win against an undefeated team late in the season for the second time in his career. In 2006, he won against the 10-0 Colts, and on 19 December 2009, he defeated the 13-0 Saints at New Orleans, throwing for 312 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Romo finished the 2009 season as the first quarterback in team history to take every snap for a full season. He also passed his own mark for single season passing yardage, with 4,483 yards, and became the first Cowboys quarterback to throw 20+ touchdowns and less than ten interceptions in a season. His eight 300 yard games was also a team record, surpassing his own record from 2007. His 1.6% interception percentage tied a team record, and his career interception percentage is now the lowest in franchise history.^[23]

The Dallas Cowboys became the NFC East division champions with their season finale shutout of the Philadelphia Eagles, the second division title in Romo's three full seasons as the starting quarterback.

Romo had a 104.9 passer rating in a 34-14 win of the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs, earning the first play-off win in 13 years for the Dallas Cowboys, and his own first career post-season win.

However the following week in the NFC divisional rounds against the number two seed Minnesota Vikings, Romo had three fumbles (losing two), an interception and was sacked six times in the 34-3 loss.

2010 season[link]

In Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans, Romo threw for a career-high 406 yards and three touchdowns. However, he threw two costly interceptions in the 4th quarter, resulting in 34-27 loss at Cowboys Stadium. Romo and the Cowboys were desperate for a win with a record of 1-3 and last in the division. They played against the Minnesota Vikings, who also had a 1-3 record and were in need of a win. Romo threw for over 200 yards and 3 TDs but also threw 2 costly interceptions. The Cowboys went on the lose the game by a score of 24-21.

During the October 25, 2010 Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, Romo suffered a broken left clavicle. The injury occurred during the second quarter, when Romo was driven to the turf by Giants linebacker Michael Boley.^[24] He was placed on Injured Reserve on December 21, 2010 and replaced by veteran John Kitna.

Records and honors[link]

• 2006 Pro Bowl
• 2007 Pro Bowl
• 2009 Pro Bowl

NFL all-time records[link]

Career[link]

• #2 All-Time Career Passer Rating: 96.9
• #4 All-Time Yards Per Attempt: 8.1

Dallas Cowboys team records[link]

Career[link]

• Games with 3+ touchdown passes: 24 (Previously held by Danny White with 20)
• Games with 300+ yards passing: 32 (previously held by Troy Aikman with 13)
• Lowest career interception percentage: 2.78% (minimum 16 starts; previously held by Aikman)

Season[link]

• Games with 300+ yards passing: 8 (2009)
• Passing TDs: 36 (2007); previously held by Danny White with 29
• Passing yards: 4,483 (2009); only Cowboys' quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season (2007. 2009)
• Completions: 347 (2009); previously held by Romo with 335
• Consecutive games with a TD pass: 20 (2010–11); previously held by Danny White

Game[link]

• On Nov 23, 2006, Romo threw 5 TD passes in a game, a record he shares with Troy Aikman.
• On Nov 13, 2011, Romo completed a team record 88.5% of his passes in a home game against the Buffalo Bills.

Injuries[link]

During the 2008 season, Romo broke the little finger on his right hand (throwing hand) during overtime in an early season loss to the Arizona Cardinals.^[25] He missed the following three games with the injury.

Shortly after the Cowboys 2008 Season-ending loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Romo collapsed in the visiting team showers from an apparent rib injury.^[26]

During the October 25, 2010 Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, Romo suffered a broken left clavicle. The injury occurred during the second quarter, when Romo was driven to the turf by Giants linebacker Michael Boley.^[24]

In the first quarter of a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Romo took a hard hit that fractured a rib and punctured his lung.^[27] He was replaced for two possessions by back-up quarterback Jon Kitna, but returned to lead the team to an overtime victory. He played the next six games with a kevlar vest for extra protection on the injury.

Personal life[link]

Romo is an avid amateur golfer, and attempted to qualify for the 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the 2005 U.S. Open, but failed. During the offseason, when not training, he plays golf around Dallas. He failed to make the cut in qualifying for Byron Nelson in 2008.

Romo is also a frequent guest on national sports radio programs. During the 2006 and 2007 seasons, he was the co-host of "Inside The Huddle", a one-hour player commentary show that aired on local talk radio in Dallas along with linebacker Bradie James. Romo was replaced for the 2008 season by (then) Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens. The show is broadcast on the KLLI radio station in Dallas.

In November 2007, Romo began dating singer and actress Jessica Simpson. On December 16, 2007, Simpson attended a Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game at Texas Stadium, in which Romo had a bad performance in the loss to the Eagles.^[28] Further controversy erupted before the playoff game against the New York Giants when pictures surfaced of Romo (along with teammates Jason Witten and Bobby Carpenter) at a resort in Cabo San Lucas with Simpson.^[29]

On July 13, 2009, People reported that Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson had called it quits. A source close to the pop star told the magazine that Romo broke up with Simpson on July 9, 2009—the night before her 29th birthday.^[30]

Romo is a second generation Mexican American on his father's side and is of German and Polish descent from his mother's side.^[31] His grandfather, Ramiro Romo Sr., emigrated from Múzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico, to San Antonio, Texas, as an adolescent. The elder Romo cites Tony's success as an example of the possibilities afforded to immigrants in the United States: "I've always said this is a country of opportunities. If you don't get a job or an education, it's because you don't want to."^[32][33]

In September 2007, Romo's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Tony Romo has stated that, while upset about the family crisis, he still must continue to focus on his career.^[34]

In September 2008 Romo signed a 5 year long, $10 million endorsement deal with apparel marketer Starter.^[35]

He began dating former Miss Missouri USA (2008) Candice Crawford in the summer of 2009. On December 16, 2010, the KDAF Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas news station where Crawford works, announced she became engaged to Romo while celebrating her 24th birthday with her family at the restaurant Five Sixty.^[36] They were married on May 28, 2011.^[37]

On October 25, 2011, Romo announced that he and Crawford were expecting their first child in 2012.^[38] On April 9, 2012, the couple welcomed a son, Hawkins Crawford Romo.^[39]

See also[link]

• List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tony Romo

• Official website
• Dallas Cowboys bio

Bill Simmons
Born	William J. Simmons III (1969-09-25) September 25, 1969 (age 42)
Education	College of the Holy Cross B.A. in Political Science Boston University M.A. in Print Journalism
Occupation	Sports columnist Author Podcaster
Spouse	Kari Simmons
Children	Zoe Simmons Benjamin Oakley Simmons
Website
http://www.grantland.com/

William J. "Bill" Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. 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, and serves as an executive producer of ESPN's documentary project, 30 for 30. He also has written two best-selling books and worked as a writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. 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.^[1]

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

William J. Simmons III^[2] was born on September 25,^[3] 1969,^[4] to William Simmons^[5][6] and Jan Corbo.^[7] His father, was a school administrator,^[5][6] and his stepmother,^[8] Molly Clark, is a doctor.^[6] Simmons was an only child and grew up in Marlboro and Brookline, Massachusetts before moving to Stamford, Connecticut to live with his mother after his parents divorced when he was 13.^[2][7] Growing up, Simmons wanted to be a columnist for one of the two major newspapers in Boston.^[9] He attended The Greenwich Country Day School^[7] and then attended Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut for high school.^[10] In 1988, he completed a postgraduate year at Choate Rosemary Hall, a prep school located in Wallingford, Connecticut.^[11] As a child Simmons read the David Halberstam book The Breaks of the Game, one of his main influences,^[12] and credited it as the single most formative development in his sportswriting career stating:^[13]

While attending the College of the Holy Cross Simmons wrote a column for the school paper, The Crusader, called "Ramblings" and later served as the paper's Sports editor.^[14] He also re-started the school’s parody newspaper and started a 12-14 page, underground, handwritten, magazine about the people in his freshman hall called "The Velvet Edge."^[2] He graduated in 1992 with a B.A. in Political Science.^[15] Subsequently, while living in Brookline, Massachusetts, he studied at Boston University where he received his master's degree in print journalism two years later.^[15][16]

Early career[link]

For eight years following grad school, Simmons lived in Charlestown working various jobs before eventually landing a job at ESPN.^[16] The September after grad school, Simmons started working at the Boston Herald as a high school sports reporter, mainly "answering phones... organizing food runs, [and] working on the Sunday football scores section."^[2][15] Three years later he got a job as a freelancer for Boston Phoenix^[15] but was broke within three months and started bartending.^[2] In 1997,^[9] unable to get a newspaper job, Simmons "badgered"^[2] Digital City Boston of AOL^[17] into giving him a column, and he started the web site BostonSportsGuy.com while working as a bartender and waiter at night.^[18][19] He decided to call his column "Sports Guy" since the site had a "Movie Guy."^[17]

Originally the column was only available on AOL, and Simmons forwarded the column to his friends.^[17] He began receiving e-mails from people asking if they could be put on his mailing list.^[17] For the first 18 months, Simmons would send it to about 100 people, until it became available on the web in November 1998.^[17] The website quickly built up a reputation as many of Simmons' friends from high school and college were e-mailing it to each other.^[7] Simmons thought about quitting and going into real estate in the winter of 2000 since there was little money in sportswriting.^[17] He is considered to be one of the first stars of the Internet generation of sports writers because he embraced the Internet when not many writers were.^[9] In 2001, his website averaged 10,000 readers and 45,000 hits per day.^[15]

Career at ESPN[link]

Simmons gained notoriety as "The Boston Sports Guy"^[20] which earned him a job offer from ESPN^[14] in 2001 to write three guest columns.^[19] His first column was "Is Clemens the Antichrist?" which became one of the most e-mailed articles on the site that year.^[19] Becoming one of the most popular columnists on the site,^[1] Simmons was given his own section of ESPN.com's Page 2, which helped both himself and Page 2 gain widespread popularity.^[20] In the first sixteen months which Simmons wrote for Page 2 the viewership doubled.^[21] In late 2004 ESPN launched an online cartoon based on his columns^[14] which Simmons later called a "debacle" which he had decided to quit.^[2] Simmons writes a column per month for his page titled "Sports Guy's World."^[22]

As a lead columnist,^[1] Simmons is one of the country's most widely read sports writers^[23] and is considered a pioneer of sportswriting on the Internet.^[1] His readership has steadily grown since he started at ESPN.com in 2001.^[1] In 2005, according to ESPN, Simmons' column averaged 500,000 unique visitors a month.^[7][24] According to comScore, Simmons' column had averaged 1.4 million pageviews and 460,000 unique visitors a month over the previous six months in November 2009.^[25][26]

In 2007, Simmons conceived the idea for 30 for 30, a series of documentaries chronicling 30 stories from the "ESPN era."^[27] Each of the documentaries detail the issues, trends, people, teams, or events that transformed the sports landscape since the sports network was founded in 1979.^[27] He wanted feature filmmakers to recount the sports stories, people, and events from the past three decades in which they took a personal interest or involvement, however great or small, and felt that said stories had not been fully explored.^[27] Simmons and his team took special interest to "stories that resonated at the time but were eventually forgotten for whatever reason."^[27] The series premiered on October 6, 2009 with "King's Ransom" directed by Peter Berg.^[28] Simmons serves as executive producer on the project.^[14][29]

On May 8, 2007, Simmons began a podcast for ESPN.com called Eye of the Sportsguy.^[30] On June 14, 2007 the podcast was changed to The B.S. Report with a new theme song written by Ronald Jenkees.^[31] Simmons creates three or four hourlong podcasts a week, generally carrying one theme throughout, talking to everyone from sports and media notables to his friends.^[32] The B.S. Report is regularly the most downloaded podcast on ESPN.com^[7][32] averaging 2 million downloads a month.^[25][26] In 2009, The B.S. Report was downloaded more than 25.4 million times.^[33] Simmons guests includes athletes and writers such as Chuck Klosterman as well as personal friends Jacko (Yankees fan John O'Connell), Cousin Sal (Sal Iacono) and Joe House.^[34]

Simmons began writing a weekly,^[22] 800 word column^[35] for ESPN The Magazine in 2002^[36] but convinced ESPN after three years to give him 1,200 words.^[35] In the July 27, 2009 issue of ESPN The Magazine, Simmons officially announced his retirement from his magazine column.^[5] He continues to write for the ESPN.com Page 2 website.^[5]

In October 2007, it was announced the Simmons joined the television series E:60 as a special contributor.^[1] In May 2010, it was reported that Simmons and ESPN came to an agreement on a new contract, although no official announcement has been made on the terms.^[37]

He has occasionally appeared on Pardon the Interruption as a guest host,^[38][39] and was a panellist on the 2010 PTI's Free Agency Summit episode.^[40]

Since 2009, Simmons has also been a moderator and panelist at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference^[41]

Grantland.com[link]

Simmons also serves as the editor-in-chief of Grantland.com, a website owned by ESPN covering sports and pop culture that launched on June 8, 2011.^[42] The website's name is a reference to deceased sportswriter Grantland Rice,^[42] though it was reportedly not Simmons' choice for the name.^[43] Sports blog Deadspin had previously reported in 2010 that Simmons was working on a "top secret editorial project."^[44]

Grantland.com features articles and podcasts from Simmons,^[45] Malcolm Gladwell, Chuck Klosterman, Dave Eggers, Davy Rothbart, Justin Halpern, and Michael Weinreb, among others .^[42]

Other ventures[link]

[edit] Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In the summer of 2002, Jimmy Kimmel had been trying to get Simmons to write for his new late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! which was to premiere after the Super Bowl.^[7][21][26] Simmons refused for most of the summer because he did not want to cut back on his columns and move to the West Coast away from his family and Boston teams.^[21] Kimmel kept on "badgering" him and by mid-September Kimmel had him "on the ropes."^[21] It was crucial for Simmons that he could write for the show and on ESPN.com and in ESPN The Magazine, which was possible because of the Disney connection with ESPN and ABC.^[21] He has also stated that he joined the show because he was burned out from his column, felt he needed a change, and always wanted to write for a talk show.^[2][35]

Simmons left Boston and moved to California on November 16, 2002^[46] and began working in April 2003^[47] as a comedy writer for the show.^[14] Simmons called it "the best move I ever made"^[2] and said it was one of the best experiences of his life.^[48] He left the show in the spring of 2004^[48] after a year and a half of writing for the show.^[7] He also wanted to focus full time on his column,^[19] since his writing was starting to slip and he did not have enough time to work on columns or even think about them.^[48] Simmons remained in California.^[7]

Books[link]

On October 1, 2005, Simmons released his first New York Times best-selling^[36][49] book, Now I Can Die in Peace.^[50] The book is a collection of his columns, with minor changes and lengthy footnotes, leading up to the 2004 World Series victory by the Boston Red Sox.^[50] The book spent five weeks on The New York Times extended best-seller list.^[19]

In July 2008, Simmons announced that he would be taking 10 weeks off from writing columns for ESPN.com's Page 2 to concentrate on finishing his second book,^[51] The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy, which was released on October 27, 2009.^[52] The book tries to find out who really are the best players and teams of all time and the answers to some of the greatest "What ifs?" in NBA history.^[53] It debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller List for non-fiction books.^[23][54][55]

Style[link]

When Simmons' first started his website, he wrote what he thought friends would enjoy reading because he never understood how people could be sportswriters while claiming they did not care which team won, in the name of journalistic objectivity.^[19] Since Simmons was writing on the web he figured that "in order to get people to read it, it had to be different from what people got in newspapers and magazines."^[56] He believes his job is not to get into the heads of the players, but into the heads of his readers.^[12] One way he gets his readers to come back is to update frequently and to be provocative, so he can get a discussion going among and with his readers.^[12] Simmons has stated that he "...will never write a traditional sports column."^[12]

With his column, Simmons aims to speak for,^[37] reconnect sportswriting with, and reproduce the experience for the average fan.^[24] Simmons' writing in his columns is characterized by mixing sports knowledge,^[16][23] erudite analysis,^[23] clever prose,^[23] comedy,^[9][57] references to pop culture^{[9][16][24][58]} including movies and television shows,^[59] his non-sports-related personal life, his many fantasy sports teams,^[24] video games,^[24] and references to adult video.^[26][54] His columns often mention trips to Las Vegas^[60] or other gambling venues with his friends, including blackjack and sports gambling.^[24][61]

One of his most popular recurring columns is the "Mailbag" where he answers readers' e-mails.^[62] He almost always ends these columns with a strange e-mail, followed by the statement "Yup, these are my readers."^[63] He also occasionally engages in lengthy chat sessions with readers on ESPN.com.^[64] His wife occasionally writes mini-articles within Simmons' own Page 2 articles as "The Sports Gal," on subjects such as The Hills and her lack of understanding of a golf handicap.^[60]

Controversy[link]

Feud with ESPN[link]

Simmons has at times had a tense and public battle with ESPN about creative freedom and censorship.^[34] In May 2008, Simmons was embroiled in a feud with management at ESPN.com. When asked by the editors of Deadspin why he had not written a new column in over 2 weeks, he said that he was writing less because he loved writing his column and believed that he and ESPN had come to an agreement "on creative lines, media criticism rules, the promotion of the column and everything else on ESPN.com" but within a few months all of those things changed.^[65]

A month before the feud erupted, Simmons was scheduled to interview then-senator Barack Obama for a podcast.^[66] Obama was still running against then-senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination at the time.^[66] ESPN nixed the interview, saying that they would only allow its reporters and columnists to interview a presidential candidate once the nomination had been finalized.^[66] Deadspin believed this was an example of ESPN pulling rank, and speculated that ESPN was thinking that they should wait for Stuart Scott to talk Carolina hoops with Obama after the convention instead of on a podcast.^[66] According to a campaign source, a television interview with Scott was canceled by higher-ups as well.^[67] Scott eventually did interview Obama right before the convention began.^[68] In March, 2012, Simmons interviewed President Obama in a B.S. Report podcast.

On October 31, 2008, ESPN refused to post Simmons' NFL Week Nine Picks, instead just putting up his predicted lines.^[69] In response to many reader emails, Simmons posted to his blog explaining what happened (which has since been removed from his personal blog).^[69][70]

In November 2008, according to Deadspin, Simmons had quit the B.S. Report due to the content being edited out of them.^[71] The controversy revolved around the entry of pornography actor Christian into a ESPN fantasy basketball league.^[71][72] Simmons was upset that his explanation of ESPN's refusal to allow him into the league was edited out of a B.S. Report podcast.^[72] On November 25, 2008, Simmons returned to recording his B.S. Report podcast with a disclaimer, which says "The BS Report is a free flowing conversation that occasionally touches on mature subjects."^[73]

In late 2009, Simmons was punished by ESPN for writing tweets critical of Boston sports radio station WEEI's The Big Show.^[74] He was suspended for two weeks from Twitter with an exception for tweets about his book tour.^[74]

Isiah Thomas[link]

A frequent column target for Simmons in the past has been former New York Knicks coach and general manager Isiah Thomas.^[58][75][76] This led to Thomas threatening Simmons on Stephen A. Smith's radio show in early 2006, saying that there would be "trouble" if they ever met in the street.^[75][76][77] Upon a meeting in Las Vegas, they both decided they were entertainers at heart.^[75]

Red Sox Nation presidency[link]

Simmons and Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy feuded over the presidency of Red Sox Nation. The Red Sox asked Simmons to run for the ceremonial position and he accepted. In a candidate's memo, Simmons remarked that he was a better choice than Remy because he is not a smoker.^[78] Remy criticized Simmons for about five minutes during the July 16, 2007 NESN broadcast of a Red Sox – Royals game.^[79] Simmons later removed himself from consideration and Remy was named president.^[80]

Memes[link]

Simmons responds to issues in the sports world in a unique way, usually putting a different spin on events, ideas and theories contributing to memes.^[57] He uses such terms so frequently that ESPN.com has a glossary of Simmons conventions, with links to articles in which they were used.^[81]

Ewing Theory[link]

One of Simmons's most used internet memes has been the Ewing Theory,^[15] which was conceived by Dave Cirilli and named after Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks. In 1998–99, the Knicks made the NBA Finals after Ewing sustained an Achilles' tendon injury. The Ewing Theory claims that when a longtime superstar who has never won a championship leaves the team via injury, trade, or free agency, and the media writes the team off, the team will play better.^[82][83]

Given the time since the name Ewing Theory was coined and the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory, a number of readers suggested the name be updated to the "Tiki Theory" named after former player Tiki Barber and Simmons considered making the change,^[84] though it seems to have remained with the Ewing label.

Manning Face[link]

Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning. One of Simmons most well known memes is the Manning Face.

The Manning Face is a facial expression displaying a mix of frustration and disgust. It is most often displayed by NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and his younger brother, Eli.^[85][86] It was coined by a reader in 2001^[87] and was later defined by Malcolm Gladwell as "the look of someone who has just faced up to a sobering fact: I am in complete control of this offense. I prepare for games like no other quarterback in the NFL. I am in the best shape of my life. I have done everything I can to succeed—and I'm losing. Ohmigod. I'm not that good."^[88]

The Manning Face references receded from Simmons' columns during the 2006–09 stretch when each brother won a Super Bowl and Peyton won two MVP awards, but Simmons noted it returned during the Colts' Super Bowl XLIV loss to the New Orleans Saints, after Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton's pass and returned it 74 yards for the title-clinching TD.^[89] He later said it wasn't clear whether the Manning Face was returning for good or made a cameo appearance.^[90]

Levels of Losing[link]

Another recurring Simmons topic is the 20 Levels of Losing (originally the 13 Levels of Losing), where he defines, describes and ranks the most painful ways for a sports team to lose, such as the "Stomach Punch", or the "Guillotine". Simmons defined the Boston Red Sox' loss in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series as the highest level of losing.^[91][92][93]

Tyson Zone[link]

Simmons also created the Tyson Zone, named for boxer Mike Tyson. The Tyson Zone is the status an athlete or celebrity reaches when his or her behavior becomes so outrageous that one would believe any story or anecdote about the person, no matter how shocking or bizarre.^[57][94][95] Simmons has used the term in adjective form as the word "Tysonic."^[96]

Hall of Fame Pyramid[link]

Simmons alternative to the current basketball hall of fame, explained in his second book, The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy. A list of the best 96 players arranged into 5 levels based on a set of judging criteria, and arranged into a pyramid with the top 12 referred to as "the Pantheon". This list has gone under a number of revisions since it was created.^[97]

The Secret of Basketball[link]

The secret of basketball refers to a quote from Isiah Thomas about the secret to winning basketball, and is referred to in Simmons second book. The secret of basketball is that it's not about basketball and is related to readers through a humorous anecdote.^[97]

Personal life[link]

Simmons is married to Kari Simmons (née Crichton),^[14] mentioned only as "The Sports Gal" in his columns.^[60] They have two children together, daughter Zoe Simmons^[6] (born May 2, 2005) and son, Benjamin Oakley Simmons (initials being BOS, a supposed hat tip to Simmon's hometown Boston) ^[7] (born October 30, 2007; called "The CEO" by Simmons and his wife^[98]). His father, William Simmons (born November 27, 1947), is also referred to as "The Sports Dad" and was the superintendent of schools in Easton, Massachusetts, for more than 30 years.^[6]

Simmons is a devoted fan of Boston's teams^{[16][19][60][99]} including Boston Red Sox,^[100][101] New England Patriots,^[101][102] and Boston Celtics.^[21][101] He was a longtime fan of the Boston Bruins and the NHL, but claims that their poor management led to his completely losing interest in them until the 2008 playoffs.^[103] He is also a Los Angeles Clippers season ticket holder and most recently, due to the NBA lockout, the Los Angeles Kings.^[104] He also claims to be a fan of the English Premier League soccer team Tottenham Hotspur, and he has had playful debates on soccer with ESPN colleague David Hirshey, a soccer columnist and a die-hard fan of Tottenham's fierce rivals Arsenal F.C.^[105]

References[link]