Former ESPN personality and Grantland founder Bill Simmons is still a little bitter about being dumped by the network earlier this year. While ESPN's unexpected firing drew criticism from Simmons fans and Grantland loyalists, HBO quietly took advantage of the situation by snatching up the sportswriter and giving him his own weekly talk show. Simmons was apparently unable to stay off the radar for too long, though, so he returned Thursday with his own self-titled podcast in which he predictably took some shots at his former employer.
"We've been on ice," Simmons joked to his show's first guest, Cousin Sal. "I have not been heard from for almost five months. I would call it a sabbatical, is that being kind?"
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