Bill C is leaving SBNation
Big news in the CFB blogosphere world. Bill C, the guy behind S&P+, is leaving SBNation.
No word on where he's going yet. I doubt this is the end of S&P+ and assume it will follow Bill wherever he goes as he owns it, but we'll see. Wherever he does go I hope he continues his 130 team offseason preview series as it's fantastic content to fill the gap between seasons.
This is the official end of Podcast Ain't Played Nobody (PAPN), his podcast with SBnation writer Steven Godfrey, as we know it. I'm not a fan of Godfrey so it'll be interesting to see how it continues (version 2.0 aka the post Bill era is supposed to go live in August). If Bill can't continue as cohost from his new company I hope he starts a new podcast and either PAPN or this new one continues the old PAPN feel (tasting menus, top 25 S&P+ recaps, etc.).
Real disappointment that PAPN is going away. It certainly filled a niche in my CFB podcast lineup that isn't easily filled. Whatever PAPN 2.0 is, it's not going to be the same, because so much of its content was driven by the S&P+ ratings. Plus, BillC seems to be a legit CFB junkie in the same way I am (e.g., breathlessly watching dumpster tier Mountain West games at 1 am).
Reading between the lines, it seems like Something Ominous is happening at SBNation (and Vox as a whole). Nobody is spilling the beans yet, at least not publicly, but whatever it is probably isn't good.
Writers at Vox just won union recognition following a mass walkout and tense negotiations. Lots of hard feelings throughout that process and some shady stuff from the management side as I understand it. A few people I read are pretty pissed with how it all went down.
Don't know if that has anything to do with Bill C. but that's the upheaval at the masthead lately.
Going to miss PAPN but I'm also now sad that we probably won't get a Michigan preview this year. Based on his descriptions on the show he kind of writes them as he goes so I don't know if he'd have gotten to anything but the dregs of the B1G yet.
Edit: But based on the podcast it sounds like he's still going to be in the content business and not going to work for a team or something. So maybe we'll get one wherever he's going.
I would guess to the Athletic.
Did Webb or Lorenz put in a crystal ball?
According to Reddit it's not The Athletic so take that FWIW.
I could see him going to The Ringer
Yes b/c they seem to like the analytics stuff. No b/c they have nearly zero CFB content...but maybe this is their attempt to expand to CFB?
Is there a sportswriters transfer portal? Will he be immediately eligible?
GTFO. That's my bit.
Don't know anything about this PAPN, because the internet only has one college football podcast.
Holly Anderson tweeted something indicating she, Connelly, and Godfrey are doing something together (I assume a podcast).
I see tweets about her and Godfrey doing stuff together but not Bill too. I hope you're right though, I like Holly and Bill but can't stand Godfrey.
I like Godfrey as a useful idiot type. Occasionally he has good insight into stuff through his sources and at other times he's just an semi-entertaining big dumb animal. Bill carries that show though.
If this gets Holly off the Fullcast I'm fine with that. She's sometimes funny but her constant useless interruptions break up the flow of Spencer, Jason, and Ryan.
Holly chiming in off mic while she's clearly playing Nintendo is one of the best parts, though...
And then about 25 snakes came out.
I prefer listening to the 3 of them riff without distractions.
I can't stand Godfrey. I stopped listening to PAPN even though I love Bill's personality and his rankings. I'm delighted to learn that I'm not alone on this. Hope Connelly resurfaces with a better sidekick (shouldn't be hard).
Up late with a baby and reading comprehension was lacking. You’re correct it sounds like Holly and Godfrey. That is decidedly less exciting. At least Bill won’t be dragged down by Godfrey’s act anymore.
Is there also a transfer portal for that profession?
I am hoping he ends up with fivethirtyeight. His brand of content seems like a great fit for that site.
As for Godfrey while I don't hate him it takes a special pairing, like the one with Bill, to make me tolerate his prickly curmudgeon schtick for very long. Bills earnest amiability was what smoothed out Godfrey's high school student spoiling for a fight routine. I'll give the new show a listen because Holly is involved but who knows for how long.
Holly is great, but I feel like I get enough of her with Fullcast, and I doubt she'll just stop appearing there.
My issue with Godfrey is he's an average sports writer who thinks he's more than that. I don't always agree with Brian, but whenever he gets into little fights with Godfrey it's hard not to contrast someone who thinks about issues on a deep level (Cook) and someone who is just ornery and contrarian because it's easier than taking a stand (Godfrey).
I felt similar to many of you when Bill Simmons left/was fired/would take a pay cut from ESPN. I followed him to the the Ringer. And although the content is more up his alley, It doesn’t sustain me like it used to.
True, but Simmons himself took a totally different angle. Instead of his Page 2 articles, he moved to strictly podcasting. That would work for me now, I suppose, but at the time I lost his written pieces that I enjoyed so much at ESPN. The rest of the Ringer was fine, but they weren't Bill Simmons. That's what I wanted and that version of him was gone.
As long as Bill C doesn't throw S&P+ in the dumpster and become a movie critic or something, I don't see the problem. I used his website forever before I even knew he was affiliated with SB Nation.
S&P+ is posted to Football Outsiders, as well as Connelly’s own google doc, so I’m sure that’s not going anywhere.
Love Connelly’s stats, he will land on his feet for sure.
It sucks losing PAPN because it means Bill C won't be around; Godfrey has virtually no pull himself beyond your usual drive-time "I'm smarter than you because I'm not a homer" schtick that doesn't play well. My guess is Connelly winds up on a larger site soon, likely with another podcast.
SBNation has apparently been struggling recently with consistent traffic and organic growth beyond not paying people who run their fan sites, so I wouldn't be shocked to see them undergo even larger reorganizations.
This is good news long-term -- short-term I'll be very disappointed if we don't get full previews of the B1G schools as he hadn't gotten there yet. SBNation is trash and Godfrey's odd holier-than-thou Southern schtick is beyond tiresome on PAPN. Nobody is more elitist about his personal journalism or certain school/towns' football culture than that guy, forget whatever his opinions about the actual games and teams may be in a given season.
Here's to hoping Connelly lands at a superior outlet that gives him more room and resources to do his thing. Count me slightly nervous he leans even more into the NFL though, as his dalliances there were interesting but I'd rather they don't take too much of his time away from college.
Can mgoblog pay him to produce content for this site? I would donate to that kickstarter.