http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/raissman-countdown-bill-simmons-article-1.1905839?cid=bitly

Bill Simmons loses power play with Sage Steele, starts new hoops show for Grantland
Simmons was able to grease the skids for the 'NBA Countdown' departures of Magic Johnson and Michael Wilbon, and with trusty wing man Jalen Rose by his side, it looked like clear sailing ahead. Unfortunately for Simmons, no one predicted nature taking its course. Or Steele refusing to take Simmons' crap.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, August 16, 2014, 1:32 PM A A A
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ESPN can spin it however it wants, but Bill Simmons was forced out of 'NBA Countdown.'
JOE MURPHY/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
ESPN can spin it however it wants, but Bill Simmons was forced out of 'NBA Countdown.'
Skilled and schooled in the art of face saving, ESPN suits buried the fact they bounced Bill Simmons from his “NBA Countdown” throne deep in a press release hailing his new Grantland hoops show.

The real headline here should have been this: Simmons loses power struggle to Sage Steele. ESPN to debut entirely new “Countdown” cast.

While it should, the former is not likely to happen. The latter did. When Simmons, the editor of Grantland, was riding high in the power department, he was able to grease the skids for the “Countdown” departures of Magic Johnson and Michael Wilbon.
With these two cats disposed of and Simmons’ trusty wing man, Jalen Rose, at his side, it looked like clear sailing ahead, that Simmons would keep setting the tone of the show and controlling it.

Unfortunately for Simmons, no one predicted nature taking its course. Or Steele refusing to take Simmons’ crap. That, and the fact the show still sucked, led to Simmons becoming the proud recipient of an exit visa. So let the spin continue. Those who still think it was actually Simmons who wanted out, well, don’t stop believing.

Of course you know that this would make him the first mouth to want off a nationally televised pregame show, which pays exceedingly well, too.

Let that sink in. Then flashback to the postgame show following Game 4 of the NBA Finals when Simmons’ “me” side was revealed and some suit realized this was never going to work out.

“Do I get to speak now? It’s been like 10 minutes,” Simmons whined on camera. Steele, seeing Simmons did not exactly take one for the team, reacted by just shaking her head. Were there any similar moments behind the scenes?

Someone at ESPN ultimately realized even though the show was awful, Steele was more valuable than Simmons. She anchored a program that was anchorless too long. Steele controlled the flow. Under her watch there were no prolonged soliloquies from a cast in need of tight editing.

Anyway, Simmons is gone and so is his power base. All signs point to the Bristol faculty sticking with “Countdown” incumbents Rose and Doug Collins. If Simmons’ seat is to be filled, Stephen A. Smith’s butt should do the filling.

Back in June, we advised ESPN to keep Steele and dump the rest of the cast. We even named a new lineup featuring SAS, Jon Barry and Tim Legler. It appears this is not likely to happen.

So maybe Simmons can give these fellas some run on his new show — where he won’t have to wait 10 minutes to share his basketball brilliance with the unwashed masses.