The sports story here is that the Cleveland Cavaliers, the regular season Eastern Conference champions, are out of the NBA playoffs, falling 94-85 to the Boston Celtics on the road in game six. The still-sports-related subtext is that LeBron James, the #1 draft pick of the 2003 draft, reigning, two-time MVP, and the supposed savior of basketball in Ohio, will be eligible for free agency come the season’s conclusion.

As someone who is one of the many influenced by BIll Simmons, an everyman fan who has been a writer at ESPN.com for more than a decade, I will be among the first to admit he isn’t the pure commoner he once embodied. His reach in sports journalism now includes the NY Times bestseller list, the 30 for 30 sports documentary series he produces and his star-studded podcast, The BS Report. His self-carved empire exists somewhere in the middle of “Booyah” and the screaming heads of Pardon The Interruption. And yet, he still is able to “keep it real.”

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Earlier today The Big Lead asked if Bill Simmons, ESPN’s prolific columnist and New York Times bestselling author, is “serving an ESPN-imposed 2-week suspension from Twitter.”

Now we have an answer — it’s true. And the explanation of what happened notably came in a very new media way. Find out what’s up with the Sports Guy inside.

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Bill Simmons is many things to many sports fans: a popular ESPN columnist, an influential Twitterer, and now, the author of a New York Times #1 bestselling book, The Book of Basketball.

Mediaite recently spoke to Simmons about the pressures of fame and bestsellerdom, his feelings about a fanboy named Will Leitch, and his plans to take over the Power Grid: