Simmons says Mailbag - May
Oh yes, the Simmons Says mailbag. It has made some travels over the years. My on-again, off-again, go-to column when things are slow is going to coming to the Warren County Way monthly. And it feels like a sponsor opportunity - anybody got the Post Office on the phone? They deliver the mail, I deliver the mailbags.
OK, that was lame. Let’s just get on to the questions, including the only one I think anybody wants answered:
Q: So what the heck happened?
A: I remember watching the Malice in the Palace documentary on Netflix and one of my favorite lines came very early when Stephen Jackson sat down and said something to the effect of, “I’m only talking about this once - don’t ask me again.” It was much more colorful language, but the point was valid.
It’s been somewhere between 500-1000 people, no joke, who hit me up in May on social media, through text or out in public and all asked some version of what happened to cause me to shift lanes in media (again).
And I’ve honestly said very little, contrary to the opinions of some.
Outside of my family and very close friends, I haven’t shared many of the details of what happened. It’s been the same cliches, with any specifics usually being shared only if I had to debunk some things that were spreading about me.
And honestly, I’m not going to share everything here either.
But here we go - and trust me when I say that after this mailbag, I don’t want to talk about Main Street Media again - I got emails, recordings and contracts I keep on my phone and at my house as sources, but honestly, I think it boils down to three things (and two of them are obvious in almost any business breakup): Trust, Money and Boyd.
Bottom line, they didn’t seem to trust me anymore - as evidenced by the fact they removed my access to all social media accounts on Thursday, May 7 (including Simmons Says, which I found quite ironic because I’m Simmons and I ran the whole page without help) and I didn’t trust them after several meetings, particularly when it came to good faith in contract negotiations.
You see, when I moved over to MSM from the Standard, I was brought in to do three things: Convert the WCSA to a radio show, host a daily show (my original contract actually says co-host Town Talk, but it was later decided I’d get my own hour) and start what was originally referred to as a ‘newsletter.’ And the big part of how I could make a lot more money with my new endeavor was revenue share - later signed as profit share - on the newsletter.
Well, that newsletter became the MSJ. I know this because on my first day, I was in the strategy meetings of what it needed to be. I was also in the room when it was named, which came after such options as: Main Street Insider, Main Street Connection and The Main Street Media Mix.
Again, I know this because I was in the room. I was in the room when we registered the domain on GoDaddy and I was in the room when the Facebook page was started and the logos were being decided on. For the record, that was the last week of February in 2025 - about two weeks before the Standard would sell and the media landscape in Warren County would change.
So, you could say I was a pretty important cog in the machine. Over the next 14 months, I’d get called the MSJ’s business manager (largely a ceremonial role, tied just to the McMinnville site), make recommendations on staff expansion, write the most stories on the site until my exit and overall just do a lot of work on it.
What was my cut of the revenue as it grew to a six-figure generator? Not a dime more than my original base pay in Year 1, and nothing more than the raise I got starting Year 2 (which came after I balked when originally presented a Year 2 contract that would’ve cut my base pay by 33 percent).
In my final day of employment Friday, May 8, I sent an email of my original contract stipulations and what the number was for the pay I felt I was owed over my first year. Later, in what would be my final conversation with ownership - the day after I lost access to everything - I asked one owner a simple question: “Do you think I’m entitled to that money?”
I was told probably some of it. And I told them to keep it. I didn’t want anything else from them - not that money, nor any accrued PTO if they didn’t feel like paying it out.
“I want nothing from you.” I walked out, grabbed my key, walked back in the building, put it down and said thanks for the opportunity.
So that handles the trust and money in my estimation; Let’s get to Boyd.
It’s no secret I coach the Lady Broncos (and have been doing it for four years). In our meetings before I was ever hired, I made it clear I wouldn’t take the job if that wasn’t something they could accommodate and they said that wouldn’t be an issue. And, to their credit, my coaching of Boyd never was.
My coverage of Boyd was.
Now this may make MSM the hero to some in Warren County - the people who gladly would ignore any story about the Broncos or Lady Broncos ever written - but on the same day I was told the WCSA was no longer going to be platformed on radio or on WBMC’s Facebook, I was also told I was covering too much Boyd stuff.
At that point, I noted that 2-of-16 of my stories the week before were Boyd coverage and they said that was where it needed to stay. And when I asked why the company had a problem with Boyd, one owner answered back, verbatim, Let me be clear, I don’t give a sh*t about Boyd.
It seemed to me, that there was a feeling of if coverage wasn’t making dollars, it didn’t make sense to them to cover a school in Warren County. And I get that . . . heck, I’ve said that.
Money has to be made, but I do think there were people who would pay - and did pay - to read about Boyd athletics, so it made no sense to me to downplay an entire school when we spent over two months covering every single spring sports team in the county.
Seriously, I was at WCMS and WCHS baseball and softball games, flag football games, hosting soccer coaches on my show, swinging by the tennis courts and talking almost weekly with coach Wilhelm about track. You name it and we were covering it.
So making it to where one school could only get two stories a week, especially one they knew I had a connection to, felt personal. Personal to Boyd, but also personal to me.
There’s plenty more I could say - and heck, they’re welcome to say what they want too. They got mics. They got websites. I’ve been accountable for everything I’ve said or written for 16 years and there’s no money to be gained from making this “click bait” - Our clicks come at zero cost to readers.
There’s going to be people who read this and think I’m crazy. I’ve probably already lost friends because of things that have happened in the last month - and it really sucks. But that’s the risk I ran the moment my livelihood (really since 2020 for the most part) became tied to my public persona.
I’m the Simmons Says guy. Or I’m the Warren County Sports Authority. My talent was my name. My name was my talent. Putting myself out there (airing my grievances, if you’re old enough to remember Seinfeld) could make some people think less of me. That could limit my future paydays, but I’m OK with saying what I’ve said because I know what I did and how I handled myself.
And I know I’m never blameless either. Let me go B-Rabbit for a second - I was surly, I did question their journalistic integrity, I did fight back when they twice tried to switch the Simmons Says show format, telling them I wouldn’t do a political show before finally acquiescing to a sports show and I did show up at 8:59 a.m. sometimes to host my 9 a.m. show.
That’s all true.
It’s also true that we probably were destined for a breakup the moment the WCSA was de-platformed at the end of April and the show I’d been a part of for two years (what got me on their radar in the first place) was going to end up being a direct competitor for ad dollars with the place I worked. And sure enough, the breakup happened 11 days later.
Here’s what is also true: From the time I returned from NACA in early March until May 8, I was working (often times in the office) every single day but one. I worked 6-7 days a week for almost 14 months straight. I hosted five shows a week on Simmons Says, only missing a handful due to vacation or illness (Like when I got the flu and the only text I got from management was them asking me to attend a meeting), I hosted WCSA every week, including on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, I did business reports weekly, I did my own social media clips, I grew a social media following for my show on Instagram and Facebook that still - even after a month sitting dormant - have more followers than any current WBMC programming and I helped develop a website that grew bigger than any of us ever imagined.
And there’s 600-plus stories on that site that people can still access that have my name on them. Proudly. It’s always been my pleasure to cover ALL of Warren County and I’ll continue to do that. But I won’t ever read those stories again.
Because still, I want nothing from them. But they’re not getting $7, $70, $60 or anything from me either.
Q: Did you see the new four-part feature on the other site?
A: Somebody sent me a screen shot of the Facebook post asking this and if I cared that it came out the same time as the Simmons Superlatives had been running. Told them I didn’t care.
What’s the old saying? I think it’s “often imitated, never duplicated.”
In actuality, the Simmons Superlatives, Best of the Best or whatever else you want to call it aren’t exclusive to me. Well, Simmons Superlatives are because they’re my thoughts and selections, but the idea of the column structure isn’t exclusive.
I don’t mind Sam sharing his thoughts one bit. Maybe he focused on something different or maybe he didn’t - I don’t know. He was at games and has his own views of what stood out in 2025-26.
For that matter, I don’t mind Sam Demonbruen, Geoff Griffin, Brent Carden or any other media person who has showed up on the sidelines since I’ve been doing this. I’ve worked with all of them. They’ve helped me. I like to think I’ve helped them.
My job is to be the Warren County Sports Authority. That’s what I’m going to keep doing. Whatever anybody else does, I wish them good fortune in the wars to come.
Big shoutout to the commissioners, aldermen and elected officials from Jeff Simmons.
Q: Data Centers! Jeff, did you hear about the data centers? Are you in favor of them or oppose them?
A: Maybe it’s my logic - or my apathy - that makes me really not get into the weeds of discourse on most of the hot-button political topics that cycle through Warren County. Most of the time, I find a lot of the outpouring on the topic as performative. Seriously, we had somebody perform a poem at the podium at city hall Wednesday night. If that doesn’t say, “I’m here for the show,” then I don’t know what does.
And listen, I know a lot of people are taking this very seriously. I don’t hate them for that. I just thought the two nights of public comments could’ve been condensed to about five words: “We don’t want data centers.” The votes would’ve went the same, in my opinion.
Here’s my actual thoughts: I was born in Warren County, grew up in Warren County, and after six years in Knoxville, I came back to Warren County. My best guess is, unless I’m attacked by a bear in the Smokies, I’m going to die in Warren County.
Rock quarries, data centers, chicken farms, alien invasions - whatever - I’m staying. What I really want to see is for local government to work and I think this week we saw it do just that.
It seems the people want data centers stopped and the county and city both got rolling in attempts to throw up some major roadblocks. Nothing is finalized, but I think by June 22 (or sooner for the city), you’re going to see some happy people tooting their horns in town.
Me? I applaud the city aldermen, the county commissioners, the mayor and the county executive for opening up the floor and listening this week. I think there’s plenty of questions to be asked and answered, but I won’t be asking if any of those people take their jobs seriously - it’s obvious they do.
Q: How did you become a Spurs fan?
A: When I was young and playing JC basketball, my uncle once came and watched me play and said I reminded him of the Admiral (David Robinson, if you don’t know NBA history) because I was a center and I was left-handed. Obviously, me and one of the most athletic players of all time actually have very little in common other than being left handed, but I got a poster and a book of Robinson a little after that and I just became a Spurs fan.
It didn’t hurt that just a couple years later, the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan and the organization went on what would be considered an unprecedented run of success in pro sports, which meant I was watching winning for months at a time every year from the time I was 13 until well after I was out of college.
Just when it felt like the magic was over, the lottery ping-pong balls bounced in the Spurs’ favor once again and they got Victor Wembanyama. I remember watching at Chili’s in Cookeville with Tim and Susan Page and I almost felt like crying.
It was like being the infield guys in Major League when Wild Thing Ricky Vaughn got glasses: I knew we weren’t going to suck anymore.
So yeah, thank my uncle for comparing me to the Admiral and thank James Zahn for making me a center on Magnetek.
I think that will do it for this mailbag. You can send your questions to wcsportsauthority@gmail.com or just see me out and about in public and give me a shout. I’ll be around. I always have been.
Okay, so maybe I wasn’t done just yet. Everybody above this line was written on Thursday night, while everything below this line was written late Saturday night after the final Simmons Superlative was posted. So enjoy a double mailbag to start off on The Warren County Way.
Q: What about __________? How did they not get a Superlative?
A: This is the most common thing I’ve been asked over the last week - which I think may change dramatically once this column posts. Some didn’t even wait until every one came out, but others did at least see the first 20 names on each list (boys and girls) before deciding to ask me why Player A or Coach B didn’t make the cut. Actually, that’s not usually how it goes - it’s usually not a question, but more of a statement of how I don’t know anything if Player A wasn’t on the list.
If you ask me online, just know I’m not going to respond. I’m not trying to get into Facebook fights; Everything like that feels performative anyways. Tearing my list down to try to vouch for somebody else plays to your crowd on your page - I’m not doing it from my personal Facebook page, which I’ve tried to keep pretty much as my own page instead of my work page (though, as I’ve pointed out, there’s rarely any distinction anymore). I won’t do it from the Warren County Way page either.
Now if you do see me out and about and want to ask me a “what about,” (something Warren County loves to ask in any situation ever), just be prepared I’m answering your question with my own question: “Who would you take off the list?”
You see, the Simmons Superlatives are my list through my eyes, but I will never tell anybody they’re wrong if they want to boost up some other contender. What I will say though is that if you want to promote somebody, then step up and have the guts to DEMOTE somebody too. Because it’s all well and good to play the hero and rally behind a cause you know your friends are going to support, but it’s a lot harder when you have to say, “Well I think Player A needs to be in there and _____ should come out of there.”
It’s a Top 5 list (that sometimes extends to six). This isn’t the NCAA tournament - I’m not expanding the field to fit every single athlete or coach on the list, which would turn the Superlatives into “Jeff Simmons lists every athlete that played in Warren County this year.” Could I make a top 10? Sure. Heck, some years I could make a top 20 list.
But honestly, that’s the easy route because we love all the kids who represent our county. Making a Top 5 and sticking to it is hard - You hurt feelings, you make people mad and, undoubtedly, you’ll make some unpopular choice.
Let me do a little math for the 2025-26 list: If I would’ve decided to make the best senior and best athlete lists ONLY kids who signed over the last year - deciding that was the ultimate criteria and nothing else - I would’ve still had to omit somebody because we had over 20 kids sign (and I would’ve only had 10 boys spots and 10 girls spots). So we would’ve still had to leave out some signees, then here's also the resumes of kids we also kicked off the lists:
A 20-TD, 20-INT flag football girl with a college offer before her senior year (with many more to come), two state qualifiers (including one who has made it to state in two sports), an all-time leading scorer at a school who has been invited to college visits for two different sports and a soon-to-be four-sport lettermen. Oh yeah, that’s just the girls side.
On the boys side, you’d kick out a two-time state medalist and a kid who set two individual school records and was part of one relay record this spring.
Of course the rebuttal could be, move them onto a different list. Well, OK - then tell me which people to kick off the lists they go to? Again, if you thought somebody was more deserving, I get it. But at the same time, be ready to say which kid wasn’t.
That’s not nearly as fun, huh?
Q: What were the toughest cuts?
A: All of them. When I start this process, I go back and read everything I’ve wrote (or Sam too, in this case) and start making a running list by season to try to give an outline of athletes, teams and coaches who could make a list. It’s usually a few days of reading, crafting spreadsheets, double checking records, updating college signee lists and - overall - just a lot of work I put into it because I do want this to be as legitimate as possible.
It’d be simple to just say, “Here’s the 20 kids I like the most and the five coaches I talk to the most,” and be done with it. But that’s not how this process works. Traditionally, I don’t even take outside input into the equation - I may ask a couple people I trust, “Does this make sense?” but for the most part I do this by myself with nobody seeing the list until it’s published.
And once it’s published, there are no take-backs. Even after I wrote a few of the stories, once I put them on the page, I just didn’t like the order and made one final decision to swap stuff and moved on.
But yes, my list on the girls side was at least 50 deep and the boys list may have been even longer when I first started out trying to figure everything out. I even went back and found as many of my old Superlatives as I could - Did you know my 2011 winners for Best Athlete when I first did this were Caleb Northcutt and Lauren Wilkinson? - to see how I’ve weighted the lists previously.
What mattered? What were my criteria? Did I value team wins, personal accolades or something else when I made my picks?
Everything you’ve seen this week was the culmination of weeks of work to give you my time capsule of 2025-26 (with a huge special thanks to Brent Carden for having so many great photos to choose from).
As for coaches, it was the same thing. These are people I work closely with and have conversations with a lot. Leaving somebody off a list could mean some tough conversations down the line, but luckily in Warren County about 99% of the coaches understand I try to do my job the same way they try to coach: To the best of our abilities. And the 1% who don’t think that aren’t going to be swayed by if I put them on a list or don't.
Q: Give us your best guesses on who is set up to shine in 2026-27?
A: Off the top of my head (and out of the omission list): Ruby Denning and Kristopher Robledo. Aside from injury - something I don’t even want to say and I just knocked on all the wood paneling in my house to hope it doesn’t happen - I just can’t foresee a path where Denning and Robledo aren’t high up on the Athlete/Senior lists in 2027.
Another easy guess: Kinsley Simpson makes a strong push for the Best Girls Newcomer. She was starting at PG when I went to a camp game for the Lady Pioneers last week and I know she’s a heckuva soccer player too. Usually when you’re that good of an athlete, you’re probably going to shine in any sport (Spoiler alert: She’s on the flag football team too).
If you want some off-the-beaten-path answers, I’d say Carter Lee (football/track), Preston McAbee (baseball), Burgess Galligan (wresting), Nevaeh Duggin (softball - though her postseason run makes her less of a sleeper pick now), Natalie Payne (volleyball/tennis) and the Gannon sisters (Boyd) are all some kids I think are flying under the radar that could blow up next year with great summers. Addison Cantrell also will be a 1,000-yard receiver for the flag football team before her career ends too, but maybe it’s 2028 when they graduate McBride and Kennerly before she becomes a No. 1 option.
Q: Will you change the Superlatives anymore in the future?
A: Not likely. In the past, I did do a Best Moment as an additional Superlative to make it seven in seven days, but honestly, it’s just too much to try to do and that’s not a consistent category. To tell you how long I’ve been working on these, I had a former co-worker recommend Jay Walker’s final game(s) as a best memory for 2025-26 and that would’ve been great. I’ll let them run with that idea since it was theirs.
My thoughts for best moments were probably the Robledo brothers helping the Franklin County kid to the sidelines, something that got so much attention that Nick Beres picked it up. If you want something that sums up the Warren County Way (yeah, shameless plug), then it was those kids going out of their way to help somebody, even if wasn’t somebody on their team. They did it because they were raised right, knew what was right and did it instinctively.
Q: Why do you hate cheerleaders and dancers?
A: OK, that’s an embellishment, but it’s almost midnight, I’ve already written approximately 25,000 words since we launched this website and I didn’t really enjoy being unnecessarily thrown into a debate today online. That’s the breaks though - no hard feelings.
The easy answer: I don’t hate cheerleaders or dancers. I’ve written stories on the dance success at my previous workplace (search Dance and you’ll find a WCMS story I did when they won their third title), one of my last stories at the paper was about the WCMS dance team’s second title and I covered and honored dancers and cheerleaders on the WCSA when I owned it. I don’t ignore them - I’ve been very open with both cheer and dance coaches over the years that my writing about them is limited because I don’t really understand their actions or movements, so my stories end up have to focus on the What (the results) than the How (the skill).
For football, I can explain a successful 78-yard run from probably all 11 positions. It’s the same for basketball if five kids work together in unison for a game-winning play. As for baseball, I do scorebooks for fun when I go to games, so you can assume I have the details down for it.
But cheer and dance? I know terms like tumblers, flyers, etc. but I can’t tell you why they lost a point in competition or when somebody pulls off a stunt that nobody else in their right mind would attempt. It’s above my head.
As Matt Turner liked to say: There’s a difference between ignorance and dumb.
When it comes to cheerleaders and dancers, I’m ignorant - I have a lack of knowledge of what makes them great. So, obviously, it makes it hard for me to quantify their greatness when it comes to ranking them against kids playing sports I know well where I can very quickly identify their extremely talented skillset.
Does that get me off the hook? Not really. And I’m not trying to get off it. I’m just being honest - when I don’t know, I just don’t know. Faking it would be disingenuous.
Now, since we might as well kick over all the hornet’s nests today with this mailbag, I will say this to the dance and cheer fans who get angry about the “is it a sport?” topic - I think you should look at the state level before trying to kill me on the local level. Because I can go to the TSSAA website right now and click on sports and they don’t list cheer or dance as a fall sport, a winter sport or a spring sport. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, they list cheer and dance as “activities.”
Don’t shoot the messenger.
OK, now I’m truly done. Thanks for reading.
