Bill Simmons is not Bob Woodward. In fact, one could argue that they are journalistic opposites. Nevertheless, the two apparently share a common penchant for hoarding book-related material.

Last October, the Columbia Journalism Review accused longtime Washington Post politics reporter Woodward of "routinely [keeping] his best scoops out of the pages of the Post in order to save them for his books."

Replace the phrase "best scoops" with, maybe, "scoop," and "the Post" with "ESPN" and you get something like this, taken from a recent Simmons mailbag:

Q: Gus Johnson brokers peace between you and Isiah in Vegas and this gets only a few lines at the end of a magazine column? How is this possible? —Jeff, Kailua, Hawaii

SG: I'm saving the Gus-Isiah story for Book No. 2. You'll understand why when you read it, assuming I ever finish this freaking book.

So Simmons not only tells his loyal readers that they'll need to wait an undetermined amount of time to get the truth on a story that they—and presumably only they—care about, but also manages to get in a plug for his book on ESPN's bandwidth. It's a crafty move, if he can get away with it, and he can. ESPN spokesman Paul Melvin told Gelf that Simmons is "not reporting news," and "simply saving a particular, entertaining anecdote for his book." (When Simmons first mentioned the anecdote in a prior column, he suggested he wouldn't ever relate it because "what happens in Vegas," etc.)

Fair enough. But while it's debatable whether this really qualifies as news, it's likely as close as Simmons is going to get, and it concerns a personal meeting with two of his favorite subjects, about whom he usually writes from afar. So maybe he ought to disclose the story to his fans instead of making them wait.

At least he's honest about it.

Related in Gelf: Gelf answered Simmons's questions, discussed his gambling habit, and lamented his intern competition.