There’s so much outstanding work in the most recent issue of Play Magazine, that we nearly missed this tremendous snippet, where ESPN’s Rick Reilly took a swipe at ESPN’s Bill Simmons when the ref wasn’t looking: “The Web is supposed to allow the sportswriter to unbutton his blazer and slough off the constraints of the print trade. What looks like a small masterpiece on the back page of Sports Illustrated might seem somehow smaller on the Internet. But where some of us gaze at the Web and see a delightfully shaggy form of journalism, Reilly sees too many sloppy, overly indulgent meditations. “A lot of these guys could use a Lincoln Continental, if not a Greyhound bus, full of editors,” he told me. (When I asked about popular ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons — soon to be his teammate — Reilly pretended that the phone had gone dead.)”

Reilly … that funny guy. He can probably expect a congratulatory call from Dane Cook shortly. How long does it take until Simmons responds? Someone try to slide this question into one of his next chat sessions, OK?

Yuckster Fricassee (Play Magazine)