One of the main reasons that Kevin and I started Pegboards was that we had a hunger to write creatively about all of our hobbies and interests, but nowhere to do it. So we started a blog. Not to make money or to enlighten all of our friends and family as to how smart we are, but simply because we enjoy it. And the truth is we don’t always produce as much content as we’d like to. In fact, sometimes months fall off the calendar and our site is more silent and motionless than Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. You can chalk some of that up to laziness but it isn’t due to a lack of a desire. We have jobs and commitments and life has always had a habit of getting in the way of things you want to do. It just happens.

But one thing that always drove us was the success of Grantland. Dealing in equal parts with pop culture and sports, Grantland deployed a host of talented, mostly unknown writers to cover as many subjects as possible. The idea I’m sure was to draw readers in by appealing to their passions, then build a following of loyalists that truly appreciated the talent and hard work that was on display. Grantland was Bill Simmons’ baby, and I think his primary objective was to build a place that he’d want to work at if he were a young writer. It was the beacon of hope for people like Kevin and I, and now it’s all over.

ESPN pulled the plug on Grantland last week about seven months after dismissing Simmons. You can’t read Zach Lowe, Bill Barnwell or Andy Greenwald anymore, but you can watch Michael Smith and Jemele Hill act.

I hate everything.

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