Yeah, I don't feel what he said was worth getting suspended over. He should have left out the dare or threat to post e-mails. That implies it's some sort of regular practice with ESPN. Just trash Gooddell, let the hush e-mails come and then talk about them. He threatened them with something they could just skip over and they did, and then proceeded straight to punishment. He just told his employers the thing that would draw them heat and so they knew what not to do in response.
As for why he's less interesting, I don't feel the shtick got old. I think his shtick relies on being daring and hip to the curve. In other words, he needs to be the other. But you can't stay ahead and sound fresh or underground if you're in a hubris bubble. Then you just become a part of the standard narrative. Grantland is a big old hubris bubble for him. He may seem different from Stephen A Smith, but he's just as clueless at this point.
