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Charlie Pierce Joins Bill Simmons’ Website After Calling Bill Simmons A “Whiny Little Thin-Skinned Bag Of Breeze”

Shortly after Grantland launched a few months back, it ran a piece from what seemed an unlikely source: Charlie Pierce of Esquire and the Boston Globe. We were shocked by this since it was less than a year ago that Bill Simmons was sniping at a mysterious man named “CPP” on Twitter – “CPP” standing for “Charles P. Pierce.” Pierce, then, didn’t take those shots lying down:

And right back at you, you mendacious, whiny little thin-skinned bag of breeze, you. I’ve been thrown out of better joints than your bibliography.

…So it was a bit of a shock to the system to see Pierce on Simmons’ site. But then we never saw his name there again. We figured that was the end of it. We were wrong:

In addition to leading Esquire’s politics blog, Mr. Pierce will write a regular column for Grantland and contribute occasionally to The Triangle blog, The Observer has learned.

We have to say, even after Pierce’s writing appeared on Grantland, we’re surprised all the same to see him line up an actual regular gig at the site. We weren’t alone: there was this. And this. And this. It’s possible Simmons and Pierce have worked things out – it seems like something would have had to happen for them to be comfortable with this arrangement. Of course, maybe the two won’t be in much contact anyway.

Feud aside, this is a big pickup for Grantland – writing-wise, it’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Pierce. You don’t gain a prominent position within Esquire for nothing – hell, even in as small a sample size as his Simmons-thrashing, it’s clear Pierce can write. It’s more prominent name recognition (and writing recognition) for a site that’s still just figuring out what it might be. And hey, if you can’t get Tommy Craggs, might as well get the guy he worships.

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