The Stephen A. Smith ShowFull Show: Kamala steps up to Trump. Expanded CFP and No Alabama? WNBA Player of the Week.
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
Stephen A. reacts to the final night of the Democratic National Convention and independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspending his campaign and endorsing Donald Trump. He crowns his WNBA ‘Player of the Week’, talks to ESPN’s Paul Finebaum about the kickoff of college football season, and shares thoughts on the website, The Spun’s ‘Most Annoying Person in Sports’ poll.
On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you'll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day's biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena. The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.
I asked for it, I really really did. I thought that the speech by the Vice President of the United States, the nominee for the Democratic Party for the presidency of the United States of America, had to show up, had to show up, had to step up at to make sure that she separated her speech from that disastrous speech that Trump gave a few weeks ago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Republican National Convention. Well, guess what, Kamala Harris showed up last night. She showed the Oh did she show up? She had a whole lot to say And guess what so do I not just about her, but also on college football and then some You never know what the hell is on my mind, but you're about to find out. To Stephen A. Smith, show in the house, coming at you, how leship boy, Let's go.
On, behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth.
I accept your.
Nomination to be presidents the United States of America.
What's up, everybody? Welcome to the Ladies Edition to the Steven A. Smith Joe coming at you as I love to do at the very least three days a week over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. I want to thank y'all again because the followers, the subscribers continue to grow. I have now eclipsed seven hundred and sixty five thousand subscribers, and of course I've eclipsed over two and a half million downloads on iHeartRadio. So those seven hundred and sixty four sixty five thousand subscribers on YouTube can't thank y'all enough. I know I'm not Christiano Ronald I get that doing a million in a day, but damn it, I ain't non elite soccer player either, So what do you expect to write for me? For my little humble self, my little old me to have seven hundred and sixty five thousand subscribers over the last sixteen months. I just can't thank y'all enough for the love and support. Keep it coming, and I'm gonna keep on coming, okay, and remember as always to continue to like and follow the show. Just cut the right hand bell in the corner there, and you too will be the latest member of the stephen A. Smith Show family. And why you're busy doing that, don't forget to get a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter. A memoir of second chances and first takes now in paperback. Okay, just go to straight Shooter book dot com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that straight Shooter Book dot Com. And by the way, you don't have to wait until Christmas to do it. It's a gift that keeps on giving all year round, so feel free to go and get it and enjoy it. I got a lot to get into. I'm not going to negate getting into sports because college football season begins tomorrow afternoon when the Florida State Seminoles go up against Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. So I'm looking forward to talking to the one and only mister Paul Finbaum, not just about that game, but about the college football landscape and all the things it entails, from the elite teams in college football to the portal itself, the transfer a portal, to the effect it's had on college football, to some of the big name coaches, from a Nick Saban who is going to a Kaitlin de Boor to a Kirby Smart to an even Dabbo Sweetye to a Ryan Day to the new coach of Michigan Jern Moore, and others there's a whole bunch of stuff to get into and Paul Farnbaum, there's nobody better to get into it with than the Mouth of the South himself, who's blessing us with his presence in just a few minutes. But that comes after what I'm about to talk about here, and that is the Vice President of the United States, the official Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of America. Her name is Kamala Harris. Before I get into any of that, however, I have to correct a lie that has been told. Now, you've got some conservatives out there, and I'm not here to speak against conservatives. I'm a registered Independent. There are things that I side with when it comes to the liberals. There are things that I side with when it comes to conservatives. I'm not apologizing for that to anybody. My buddy, one of my buddies is Sean Handedy. I ain't apologizing for that. I know and respect Mark Levin for years. I ain't apologizing for that to a damn soul. But I also don't agree with a lot of their politics, although I conceide that there are some things they say that I think make very very valid points. Okay, but there are other conservatives out there who are full of it, who sit up there and try to misrepresent my positions because, oh my goodness, they think that I'm a voice and as a result of being a voice, you get to misrepresent me. Now, I want y'all to see and put up there on the full screen who these people are that put out this tweet here, okay, because I want people to see that. Okay, this is from I don't know who the hell these people are or whatever, but it's at defiantly free insurrection Barbie is what they call it. And I had no problem with the clip of mind that they posted because they took a post from this show to Stephen A. Smith's show, and they showed it all eleven minutes or so of it. Okay, and every word that was in there I said, and I'm not backing up from it. But what I didn't say was what their caption showed. And the caption showed Stephen A.
Smith.
Kamala, Harris Kamala is not qualified to run. I never said that. Those words didn't come out of my mouth. They're full of it. Now, I understand captions are used as a tool to draw in an audience. I get that part, but damn, do you have to lie? Do you have to fab You didn't even embellish. I didn't say that. I wouldn't speak about the Vice president of the United States in that fashion. You got people out there that have been calling Trump racist and author I don't talk about the former president like that. I talk about how he acts. I talk about the things that he says. I allude to him not being good for this country because I don't think he has a discipline of the maturity to do what needs to be done. I say stuff like that, but I don't call him out his name, and I certainly don't misrepresent what he says and what he does. I don't do that, and I wouldn't do that to the Vice President of the United States, who, by the way, is a sister, a fellow HBCU grad and somebody I have every intention of voting for the nerve of y'all to lie on me like that. I'm talking about who is this here? Surrection, Barbie, That's what I'm talking about. That's a damn live.
Now.
If you watch the clip for eleven minutes, you'll see me pointing to Kamala Harris and saying, Yo, you gotta show up. You know, you know, you know. Rallies. That's not a press conference where you're taking questions. That's not a one on one sit down interview where you're taking questions. That's not like sitting down with Meet the Press or This Week or Face the Nation or State of the Union or one of these shows on Fox News, MSNBC or CNN or ABC, NBCCBS. A rally is not that at some point in time, although the strategy has worked thus far. What I was imploring our Vice president to do leading in to her speech last night in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention officially accepting the nomination the people to be the next President of the United States from the Democratic Party, what I said is this honeymoon has got to come to an end. At some point in time. You got to stand up and you got to let the world know you ain't playing around. This is this man you going up against. You're going up against a man convicted on thirty four felon accounts. You're going up against a man who lost the civilisof over four hundred and fifty four million dollars. You're going up against a man that's been impeached twice. You're going up against a man with a bevy of legal issues, and you got to stand up, and you can't be running. I don't give her damn what wave you riding. And I also pointed out the process that she didn't have to go through because with President Biden in office and him being the incumbent and de greet and the wheels clearly haven't been greased for him to walk into Chicago as the Democratic without any competition because there was no primary, knowing that that was the backdrop before he revealed himself on June twenty seventh to having lost a significant step in his step as a result, forcing Democratic donors and supporters to threaten to jump ship unless he stepped away from the race to somebody younger, more vibrant, more more lucid. Dare I say, et cetera, et cetera, can jump into the frame? I said, knowing that that was your backdrop, and knowing that you didn't have a primary to deal with, and knowing that you didn't have any competition standing in your face, and the path had been cleared for you to compete with one man and one man only, and that was Donald Trump. I said, you can't be you can't be ducking that smoke. You got to go forward and you should be able to handle it. I said it, and I meant it, and nobody was stuttering. And so with that is the backdrop understanding that that's all I was saying. Nobody said that she was unqualified, like they're trying to quote me as saying, I'm making sure Stephen A. Smith Kamala is not qualified to run. I never ever said that ever. And to use my name to put forth that drivel, that flat out lie is bs. See, this is the kind of stuff that hurts politicians and their supporters and surrogates. If you got the truth and your message is strong enough, what the hell you got a lie for? That's what they tried to do. And I'm saying that ain't right. Now that I got that out the way, let me get started with the Democratic National Convention that wrapped up last night. Like I told you in Chicago, Illinois, the convention was an event that would star studyed from start to finish, with luminaries from all walks of life. The Democratic parties showcase their best and brightest on the night where Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic nomination for the president of the United States of America. She's the first woman of color to ever accept a major party nomination in this country. Okay, even though you know women of color, of course, I was getting ready to say a woman but Hillary Roddy Clint did do it in twenty sixteen. But I digress. She's not a woman of color. That would be Kamala. Nevertheless, the world was watching as we finally got a chance to hear the Vice president's plan for America. And that's where I want to start. First things first, I thought she started off slow. I was a bit worried at first. Okay, I really really was. And I'm looking for something that I said to one of my boys last night because we were watching it and talking to one another while she was on stage. And you know, there were questions initially for the first five to ten minutes or so. I wanted her to come out swinging. I wanted us to come out. I wanted her to come out inspiring us. I wanted her to come out exuding more confidence in her ability to be a strong, capable president president. And I felt initially she had slow rolled it a little bit to the point where she was pushing, pushing out her resume, and I thought that was caving to the cynics out there who were questioning her legitimacy. And she didn't need to do that. You're the vice president of the United States. Come out swinging. And then she got it going. And from that point forward, when she called the former president of the United States unserious, that's when I said, oh, oh, here we go. Look at the sound right here, unserious. Look at this, fellow Americans.
This election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election.
See that's where I'm going right there. I love the fact that she brought that up, because that's why he's not getting my vote. See you, no matter what I believe, in America, things are cyclical. What goes around comes around, and it might might be your turn this time. It might be your turn next time. But the reality of the situation is, this is the United States of America. We've had Nixon, We've had Ford, we had Carter, we had Reagan for a couple of terms, and George H. W. Bush. Then we had Clinton for a couple of terms. After that, we had George W. Bush for a couple of terms. Even though one could easily argue you should have been Al Gore if it if it wasn't for the hanging chads in the state of Florida, but I digress. Okay, they he won in two thousand, came back in two thousand and four, beat John Kerry. After that, what do we have? We had Obama who beat Hillary and all the other Democrats that tried to get in their way, and not only did he beat then John McCain in the general election, and then after that he beat Mitt Romney. Even though Mitt Romney slaughtered Barack Obama in the first debate on the economy. Last two debates, you know, Barack Obama showed up and handled his business. But that first debate against Mitt Rodney, damn and I almost called for mercy, were almost way to tow It was that bad, But we had Barack Obama there, and then after that it was supposed to be Hillary, but it ended up being Trump, and then after Trump was Biden, and now here we are. It's not a dead end, at least it hasn't been in the past. But when you call somebody unserious, and he's proven himself to be unserious in terms of his verbiage and his willingness and ability to articulate policy and some of the decisions that go behind it, and we're not worried about a personal agenda contaminating the proceedings because of relatelationships with dictators across the globe or whatever the case may be. And you talk about a man being unseerious, but the consequences of him returning the office is serious. I thought that was a point that needed to be made. I thought it should have been made sooner, rather than her giving off her bio and her resume. But damn it, I'll take it because for the last twenty nine minutes or so to thirty minutes of that speech, Kamala Harris was fantastic. She showed up what I was imploring on Wednesday's show that was grossly misrepresented in the conservative stratosphere was that she needed to show up and show people what we believe she's capable of. I'm not gonna look at this black woman and you're gonna tell me that a former prosecutor, who is a former state attorney general, who is a former senator, who is the president vice president of the United States, You're gonna come to me with her lack of qualifications. While a while applauding Trump's qualifications going into office, are you smoking crack? That ain't happening. If I didn't question him, I ain't. I damn sure, I ain't questioning her at some point in time, no matter what your mind is, no matter what your psyche is, no matter what you do cerebrally and what have you. And people on the conservative side can lean to how he governed, and I can respect that in their minds. I also got to pay attention to your ability to articulate your positions and the discipline that you exercise and put forth so you ain't scaring the living hell out of American citizens. I remember when Trump talked about former cabinet member John Bolden Bolton, and he said to him, he said, I liked having him in the room with me, because you know, you had folks from other nations. The minute they saw them, they were petrified we were gonna bomb them, because all he wanted to do was bomb, bomb, bomb everybody, and they were scared we were gonna do it. So sometimes I'd keep him in the room with me and just tell them to be quiet, and I would sit there and do the talking because him just sitting next to me was scared of living hell out of them. That's fine. The problem is the former president of the United States tends to do that with the American people, and there's too much stuff that's going on in this world for you not to be sensitive to the thoughts you put in the heads of the American citizen, of the constituent, what constituency, Why stuff is going on? She didn't stop thinter because she's zeroed in on Trump, which was what she needed to do. That is the opposition. And I wish that Trump had zero din on her the way that she zero did on him, so we can have a debate about the issues instead of looking at him saying to people didn't even say hello, how are you, or questioning her ethnicity or her intellect. That ain't working. You can't have a United States Constitution that rules that we are three fifths of a human being, but then turn around and say that a spec of blackness in her doesn't qualify her to be black. Is she black or she in d n You don't have it both ways? Which one is it? You about the constitution? Right? Well, what the hell did the constitution say? We never subscribe to that as black people, I'll be damned if we did. But there were white people in America who did. Now suddenly you want to use that against It ain't gonna work. But in the end, she locked in on Trump. From about the nine or the ten minute mark, she locked in. Kamala Harris showed up, by the way, major props to Kerry Washington for m seeing the night with her. And as she had those two beautiful nieces of Kamala Harris come up on that stage, I think that what they were her nieces, And she said, for those that don't know how to pronounce her name, how do you pronounce her name? And one of the nieces says comma, as in comma, and then the other child said, lie, lie, Kamala, Kamala. Kamala was brilliant, brilliant. Okay, it was a beautiful thing. Prop says an aside to the one and only DL Hughley going up on stage being a man of his word, saying he judged her prematurely. He met up with her one day. She asked him to do his research. He went and did that, and he wanted to apologize on the national stage in front of the world to see, acknowledging that he needed to correct the errors of his way. That's what men do. Major props to DL hugely for doing that. I know he's been critical of me. I don't get I still love the brother, and I still think he's greater than a lot of things, and I wish him nothing but the best. We always gonna be good. But back to the speech itself. Vice President didn't stop there. She got into dictators rooting for Trump. Listen to this.
I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong.
Un who are rooting for Trump, who are rooting for Trump.
Because you know, they know.
They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself, and as president, I will never waiver in defense of America's security and ideals because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I.
Know where the United States belongs.
Here you go, ladies and gentlemen. That's leadership. Say what you want and it's just a speech. It's not policy. It's not that I get that part. But you're gonna give a speech, give it right, and make sure everybody knows where you stand. Make sure everybody knows what you stand for. She said, this is what it is. She said, dictators are rooting for Trump and basically said because he wants to be like them. I mean damn. So what that's gonna do is make you dollar back a little bit and say, Okay, let me think about some of the things that he's done. Let me think about some of the things he wants to do. Let me think about Project twenty twenty five. Let me think about uh dismantling the federal government. Let me think about making it harder with women and their reproductive rights. Let me think about law enforcement and what kind of effect and impact he wants to have that. Let me think about the possibility of him being able to operate with impunity in light of the Supreme Court Justice's rulings just weeks ago that essentially said, if you in office, there's a lot of crimes that you can't be associated with. I mean, you get to operate with some degree of impunity sitting in that office making some of those decisions. I mean, these are the kind of things that she was talking about, which brings you to the point of elevating the level of important in your mind as to whether or not you want somebody about country. Do you want somebody about country, or do you want to somebody just about their party and themselves. What she got to say.
About that our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way.
Forward, not not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.
And let me say, I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self.
Go ahead, girl, go ahead. That's what I'm talking about right there. You see, That's why I'm a registered independent. I don't like either damn party. I think they're all full of it. I'm not talking about individuals. I'm talking about the party, the two party, the binary system that engulfs us in our lives. I don't trust them. You know what would make me trust them? If I had a leader up top that was speaking about what's in the best interests of this nation, and I had parties on both sides who didn't march lockstep along party lines. If I saw a Republican's vote with Democrats, if I saw a Democrats voting with Republicans. If I saw bipartisanship dismantling before I'm sorry, not dismantling, but bipartisanship working effectively instead of marching a lockstep among party lines ruling our political system. If I saw it, I could trust it more. But I can't. You realize in today's generation, you don't even have once you campaign. The work is in the campaign once you're in office. If you're a senator or a congressional figure that exists today. You don't have to do any work once you're elected. All you have to do is vote a lawn party lines. You don't have to read bills, you have to do anything, because all it's about is today's generation is making sure you showing loyalty to the party, show layal to the party. Butmp loyalty to the party. Loyalty is supposed to be the America to the American citizens, white, black, Latino, Asian, American, Native American, Jews, Catholics, Christians. It don't matter you America what Osama bin Laden and terrorists attack this nation. You thought they distinguished when they ran those planes into the World Trade Center in two thousand and one. Do you think for one second non eleven during nine to eleven they crashed the plays in the building, and they said, there's only Jewish folks in there, there's only black folks in there, there's only white folks in there. No, they did it. They didn't give a damn. They lumped us all together and all of you gotta go as many of y'all as we could take out. That's what they did. We didn't compartmentalize as Americans we said it's us against them. That's what we heard from Kamala Harris last night. I'm proud of that woman. Today I'm proud of I'm gonna take a break for just a second, but I got a little more. Say. You're watching the Stevenie smithshid right here over the digital airways or YouTube, and of course listening to me on iHeartRadio. Back with even.
More in a.
Minute, Welcome back to the CEVNA special radio for the digital air was the YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. Before I get back into Kamala Harris, let me just notify y'all that Robert F. Kennedy Junior, there was speculation that he was going to drop out of the race today as an independent that was scheduled to run against both Kamala Harris as well as Donald Trump. Well as usual, he did something that was relatively convoluted, very confusing, didn't seem to be too definitive. Instead of dropping out completely, he basically said, don't vote for me if you're in the swing states, but if you're in a red of blue state, feel free to vote for me or whatever. Like that's going to accomplish anything. I don't understand it. Plus, he was supposed to be perceived to somebody or he was being seen as somebody who's going to throw his support behind Donald Trump. Nevertheless, all of the living Kennedy's have spoken. Courtesy of Robert F. Kennedy Junior's sister, who came out with this tweet, Miss Kerry Kennedy, she says, I'm sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brother's announcement. We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter fewure, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise, and national pride. We believe in Harris and Walls. Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story. End quote. All I'm gonna say is that R. F. K Junior is a big confusion, a big confusing, confusing. I'm not gonna lie to you. I've never thought about him once, don care how smart he was. I could not call the prejudice, call it whatever you want. I could not listen to that voice all the time. I just can't. I just get it's a hard listen. It's a hard listen. Okay, conspiracy theories aside, and all of this stuff about COVID and other things. I just couldn't. The voice alone drove me crazy. But that's just me my personal opinion. Let me get back to Kamla before I transitioned to some sports with the one and only Paul finnbaumb along with a couple of your tweets and stuff, before I get on out of here for the day. I was really pleased with the Vice President and her speech last night. I was very, very pleased, and obviously, if you are an American citizen and you've got concerns about what's transpiring, she gave the kind of speech that you wanted to hear. I knew that she wasn't gonna go the way that Donald Trump did at the Republican National Convention, basically ruining three and a half nights of exceptional work on a part of the Republican National Convention. He ruined it. Everybody was fined, but Donald Trump that night, everybody was fine for him, and his speech was so awful that I just thought that he basically messed up his prospects. Kamala Harris did not do that last night, and here was one of the reasons why. When she was talking about how America we are not going back, listen to this, but America, we are not going back. We are not going back. We are not going back.
We are not going back to him Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and medicare. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.
When insurance companies could deny people with pre existing conditions. We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programs like head Start that provide preschool and child care for our children.
America, we are not going back. Assuming this complete truth and validity and veracity to her statements, that would be enough. But she did she wasn't finished. She wasn't finished. That would be enough to assume folks out of their minds. She gave you even more reasons why to think some of these folks out of their minds. Listen to this.
This is what's happening in our country because of Donald Trump, and understand he is not done As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress. And get this, Get this, he plans to create a national anti abortion Coordinator and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions. Simply put, they are out of their minds.
Here's where it gets interesting. Well she made that statement. All I could think about was women are going to determine this election. It's not gonna be the Fellas. No matter your ethnicity, no matter what your background is, pretending to affluence rich, poor, whatever the case may be, black, white, whatever, men are not going to determine this election. It's going to be women because reproductive rights, particularly the way Kamala Harris outlined it, It's gonna come down to that white women as well as Black women. Now, the belief is most Black women ain't gonna vote Donald Trump, because most Black people ain't gonna vote for Donald Trump. But white women are a very very powerful constituents, not just because of themselves in terms of the numbers game, but because of the potential influence they could potentially have on their husbands. It's gonna be real interesting to see, and I'm glad she said what she said because highlighting that reality in terms of women's rights one with surmise. There's no way in hell he's gonna win the female vote for what if enough vote for Where's that gonna leave us? It's gonna be interesting to see what side of the aisle the ladies in this country are gonna fall under either way you slice it. Kamala Harris did her job last night, and you know how important I I believe closing is. As Alec Baldwin said in the movie Glenn Glengarry Glenn Ross, always be closing, always be closing. You got to close the deal. And that's what she did, talking about her days from the courthouse aiming for the White House. Listen to this.
I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical.
And has common sense.
And always fights for the American people from the courthouse to the White House.
That has been my life's work. Now she's got to be ready for them to attack her life's work. But it all started which you coming out swinging. That's what I was calling for I wanted her to come out swinging. I wanted her to make sure that she made a profound speech and sent the profound message. I don't give a damn that Beyonce didn't perform at the DNC last night, like TMZ initially reported, but ultimately made the correction. They said they got it wrong. Anybody carries cast the game never anywhere. I'm just staying the facts. But I don't care about none of that. I cared about what she had to say. She started off slow with a buyer on her resume, but from that point forward, at about the ten or eleven minute mark, the Vice President of the United States, the Democratic nominee for the President of the United States, Kamala Harris, showed up, and she showed out. Now let the games begin. Made the best one win. Got to show off for the fight. She showed, Dob. That is what I have been waiting for. Up next, transitioning to the world of sports, the one and only Paul finebaumb comes on to jump start the college football season for us because he got a lot to say by a lot of stuff going on, and I can't wait to hear them. I can't wait. We'll be talking to the one and only Paul Finebaum. In just a minute. I'll get to your tweets as well before I close out the show. You are watching the Steven A. Smith Show right here over the digital airways of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. Back to kick off the college football weekend and it's new playoff format. In a minute, welcome back to Steven AIS Smith Show right here over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. It's time to get to the twenty twenty four college football season that kicks off this weekend. With a few changes, a number of college football powerhouses have changed conferences this year, resulting in the Power Five Conferences becoming the Power for conferences. In addition to that, the playoffs have been expanded from four schools to twelve schools, with the postseason lasting one full month. Who better to talk to than my next guest here here is the mouth of the South, the raiding champion. As far as I'm concerned when it comes to analysis of college football, the one and only Paul Firebaum is in the house. My pleasure, buddy. What's going on? Man? How you doing? How you doing?
I am doing great. It's such a thrill to be all with ee Steven Nate, Thank you so much, man.
Please, the honor is all mind. Although you and I have gotten into it a little bit over the last few meets with the blasphem me coming out of your mouth, I mean, I couldn't believe it. I almost had a heart attack, almost faded. I said, I'm in great health, I'm feeling great. I'm in the best shape I've been in the nearly thirty years. And then Paul firebomb almost sent me to my grave because in a world where we're looking at the top twelve schools, you're talking about twelve sso not a fourteen playoff, a twelve team playoff. You actually in it's a possibility that Alabama wouldn't even qualify. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe you said it. I'm gonna give you an opportunity to correct the era of your waves, Paul five bam, and tell the world that something was wrong with you that day, that you did not mean what you said.
The only thing wrong that day, Stephen A. Smith, was your hearing because I said there was a possibility. I didn't declare Alabama dead. In fact, I think they will make the playoff right on the cut line. But your reaction, I don't know what your health is, and I'm not asking for your your your your private physician to show me your latest physical. But I think it's time for you to go back and see the funny guy with the hat because you, I mean, I have really have ever seen you melt down like that over something as trivial as Alabama possibly missing the playoffs. Stephen A, your buddy Nick Saban is working at ESPN now he's no longer the coach, and if you don't understand what that means, then you need to come down here to the South and I'll give you a tutorial.
Well, what about Kaylyn de Boy? Everybody's was raving about the man. The Man's twenty five and thirteen over the last over the last twenty five and three, I'm sorry, over the last two years. He was in the National Championship game last year. Okay, He's one ninety percent of his games as a head coach, all right, no matter where he's been, including three national titles on the Division two level before he arrived and watched him. He's a back. He's a two Tome PAC twelve Coach of the Year. This dude has no slouch now, Paul five bomp. I mean, he's got a pretty damn good resume. Well he does.
He wouldn't have gone the job with that all that, but that doesn't mean anything. Stephen. I've covered Alabama a long time, as you know. Do you realize and I hate to give you trivia quick questions here, but every coach at Alabama since Bear Bryant retired he retired in nineteen eighty two, do you realize every coach at Alabama in his first year has lost four games or more. What I'm saying is that is a difficult transition. It's not like taking over a certain places. There's so much pressure. And this is a guy that has a schedule. I'm not saying he's going to lose four games, but he could lose three, and three would knock him out of the playoffs. And it's not that far fetch. And I'll tell you what. He has a road game against Michigan the third week of the season. I think they'll win that game, but it's tricky. And then he's got Georgia at home. I don't care about the record last year, the year before against Georgia. Georgia has a better team than Alabama. He goes on the road to Knoxville, Tennessee, LSU and Baton Rouge and Norman, Oklahoma. It's not far fetched to think he could lose a couple of games. He's also got Missouri at home. Steven A, this is not a lock. This is not saying Nick Saban is going to be in the playoff like he was almost every year of his tenure at Alabama. This is a completely different situation.
I love how you bring up the fact that Nick Saban is no longer there. Man. Obviously, those are huge shoes to fill and as a result, that can be an impediment to the success of Alabama. But you just you just shove aside. You know, when you talk about Michigan, you say you think they'll win that game. Jim Harball is no longer this Ron Moore. I mean, we we assume he can coach and what have you, but we don't know what what he could do. When we talk about the reigning defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, what are your expectations for them for this upcoming season light of the fact that Abball was no longer there.
Hey, let me cry, right, So, but I think I al of that was playing it Wisconsin, not Michigan. So I'm glad. I'm glad you brought Mishkin up.
Uh.
Uh. I think Michigan is a really good Team's real Moore, Uh did a good job last year. I mean, I wasn't crazy about some of the things he said that all the Kumbai eye about Jim Harbo, but he got the job.
And the crying and the crying, well, let's not forget the crying. I didn't understand all that crying after they want to get it really annoyed me.
But go ahead, no, it did. I mean, one hundred we're one hundred percent agree. Man, it was too much, but he he won the big games. He survived. Yeah, he had Listen, I think Steven nick Smith could have coached that team to uh the playoffs last year. Wasn't that difficult considered with talent that Jim Harbaugh assembled. But uh, their schedule is going to do that.
Man.
They have Texas to the second week of the season. Uh. And and they can lose if they lose the Texas game, I think they're gonna They're gonna be essentially out of the playoffs because they're not going to beat Ohio State for the fourth year in a row. They've got uh, let's see, I think they've got a bunch of other schools like uh, like Oregon's on that schedule in Washington. Seeing it is a it is a tremendous challenge. And it's not that they'll take a slight step back. They won't make the playoffs.
When you're looking at the top team in the nation, I'm just looking at Ohio State.
Now.
They got this kid, Jeremiah Smith that everybody's been raving about having the potential, you know, the best recruit in the nation at the position. Obviously, you see about some of the superstar transfers they have available to the chip. Kelly's the new offensive coordinator. A lot of people talking about Ohio State and the kind of noise that they're making. But I know I'm talking to the mouth of the South in one of the elite football analyt than America College or pros so, and I know how you feel about Georgia. Where is your mindset right now? Because even though they call you the mouth of the South, the fact is you're known for your objectivity you're gonna call it like you see it. Are you viewing Ohio State as the top team in the.
Nation or you view a Georgia in that regard, I'm giving Georgia a slight edge, steven A. I think in many ways, Ohio State has more talent. I mean, they went on a buying spree last winter, which is now legal in college football, and ended up with just an enormous class. The difference between Georgia and Ohio State is the quarterback position. Will Howard is a transfer over from Kansas State. He is serviceable, he is not elite. Carson Beck is very likely the number one QB that's going to be taken in the draft, and I think that's essential. But I think they'll meet for the national championship. The path of the national championship will be fascinating, though, and what we see today in August is not exactly what we're going to see at the end of the playoffs. The playoff does not end until January twentieth. Last year, the season ended on January eighth. Why am I bringing this up? We have a playoff for the first time that goes on beyond more than more than two games. You could conceivably play four or five games if you don't get the top four seeds, and there's going to be attrition. So how much depth do you have? I think right now Ohio State probably has more depth than Georgia, but I'll still give Georgia the slight edge because of the quarterback position.
But now, but you know what you I got you. Let's get into a conversation real quick, Paul about the transfer portal. Who do you think one in that regard? How have you felt about the transfer portal? How has it affected college football? And who do you think won this offseason?
Ohio State one? You know they got the quarterback I mentioned a minute ago. Not only that they got Jutkins from Ole Miss was he was the best running back of the SEC two years ago. He had some issues with Lane Kiffin about playing time, so he found the place that he wanted to go. He also he got cal of downs from Alabama, Steven that you've been having, you know how good. Caleb Bowns would arguably be the best freshman in the country last year. He's a dB for Nick Saban. He almost went to Georgia. Ohio State figured out a way to get him there. That is valuable as important as he is for Ohio State in the defensive backfield, he's hurting Alabama by not being there because he could control a game. Uh, that's that's just a couple of players. They got Alabama center. They got Julian Sayan, who's not not a well known player. He was Alabama's top recruit this incoming season. He was a five star from southern California that Nick Saban worked hard to recruit. He shows up on campus for a couple of weeks and he's gone to day Saban after Saban Leeds. So I mean they they they had a monstrous take outside of Ohio State, probably Ole Miss had the best class in the portal. And that's why Lane Kiffin's program in Oxford is one of the top five or six teams in the country this year.
Kind of surprise. You mentioned about three guys that departed from Alabama. The second saving left and obviously Kaylyn the boy comes on board. What are we to make of that, if anything at all, because again, I know you're not saving, but in the same breath, you've had your level of success as well, and for players, the quality of downs and others that were willing to depart to go to play for Ryan Day, who's had success but has lost the last three years to Michigan. As it won a national title, one would think you would have given Kaylyn the boy an opportunity. What do you make of that? The fact that they did.
It well, Stavid, that would happened, was Saban announcers on a Wednesday that he's leaving. I mean, there is shock. The boar comes in on Friday, and it took him a couple of days to gather up and to go at full speed. And in the process, these sharks are out there. You know that. You know the way college football is right now, there's Kirby Smart, there's Ryan Day, there's other coaches, and just a couple of things got lost in the translation. Caleb downs everybody thought was going to play for Kirby Smart. But Saying's the most interesting one. There's a book out next week that says that that Kvein de Moore had a meeting with Saying and he and he asks Julian Saying how to spell his name, and the kids said, I'm out of here.
Uh.
I mean, these are minor things. But Nick Saban would have never made a mistake like that. And I'm not suggesting that that the Moor isn't an elite coach. I think he is. But coaching at Alabama is not like coaching at Washington or at some nai A school. It's a it's a different world. And the sharks that are out there coming in and literally stealing players off your rusher right now, Uh make the old days of college basketball recruiting, uh really look tame. I mean, it is vicious and it's also the money is unbelievable.
That's that's the reason why Nick Saban retired. I mean Nick Saban and I when and we sat in his office, we spoke privately about this. He considered it embezzlement for a crime now loud. He said that the game is deteriorated, not the game on the field, but in terms of recruiting, getting too your program, et cetera, et cetera. He was just really really down on the climate and how it had changed, and indicated that did it play the pivotal role in his willingness to step away from the game of football. Do you see it getting any better or worse in a world of college football?
No?
And I'm glad you told that story. That. That's a very little known story about that conversation you had with him, because he did not share information like that with very many people. And I know how much he trusted you, And I mentioned this once on first take, but when you came down and spoke at his to his team a couple of years ago, I'm told by people inside that building. And let me tell you, they had Chris Paul this year, They've had Mike Tyson, They've had Pete Rose, They've had Kobe stephen A. Smith is considered the best speaker ever to a Nick Saban team in Tuscaloosa. So he trusted you. He told you things that he didn't tell a lot of the rest of us. Stephen A, but he couldn't handle it anymore, and he didn't need to handle it anymore. He was seventy two years old, he had won seven national championships, he had retired the trophy, so to speak, and he could not deal with it because there were players on the on the plane ride to Pasadena stephen A for the national semifinal who were hitting up assistant coach, it's about, hey, what am I going to get?
Uh?
It was the season could be if it's over next week of the week after, I'm thinking about going somewhere else. I mean, that's where these guys are right now. I don't blame them for wanting wanting their money, but if you're seventy two and you've done it all, you don't want to deal with it.
What do you make of the teams that changed conferences. We've got teams in the Big twelve now that when the Pac twelve, and obviously teams at the Big Ten now that wasn't in the Big ten before. Speak to that and to kind of effect you think that's going to have on a game of college football.
Well, there's a couple of really important ones to keep your eye on. Texas, uh left, the Big Twilve, the big trawl for the SEC. Texas was in the it was in the playoffs last year. Another one that really matters is Oregon. Oregon is the top three team in the country this year under under Dan Landing, may have one of the top quarterbacks as well and Dylan Gabriel, So that's going to really shake up the Big Ten. One of the if you had to say, what's the biggest game of the year in college football this year, it is going to be Ohio State at Oregon and and some of some people watching or going, I didn't even realize Oregon was in the Big ten. The one that's not making the bit much of an impact is Southern cal under Lincoln Riley.
Uh.
They're now in the Big ten as well. They announced two years ago as opposed to a year or a year later with Oregon and Washington. Uh and and that that's a program that's that's really in a lot of trouble in the year after cableb down. So those are the ones to keep your eye on. Colorado is now in the in the Big twelve from the Pack twelve, so I mean there's mass chaos and think about this, stephen A. Uh. In the ACC this season, they will be playing with SMU, which was in the American last year, and Stanford in California. Stanford and California are now playing in the same league with Syracuse, Florida State, North Carolina, and Miami.
One of the three reasons I brought you on this show is because I want you to preview tomorrow's game between of Florida State and Georgia Tech. I wanted to get in that, but before I did any of that I've got to ask you, because you brought up three programs with very prominent names at the head coaching position. Let's start first with USC and Lincoln Riley. You have been unapologetic and very very candid about your feelings about him, and you said he should be on a hot seat and if he doesn't produce this year, he needs to be gone. Speak to why you've been so down on Lincoln Riley and what kind of hope or enthusiasm you could put or anybody could potentially have towards him for this upcoming season, because I get the sense that you don't have much for them.
I do and listen, you have Caleb Williams as your quarterback and you throw away a season because you don't spend enough time on the defensive side of the ball. That's not something new for Lincoln Ryley.
Uh.
We all know who his quarterbacks were at Oklahoma. I mean he had Kyler Murray, he had Baker Macfield and Jayleen Hurtz and he and he couldn't any and he normally I think one year they were in the they went to overtime of Georgia, but the other two years in the playoffs, they were literally blown out of the entire stadium. Uh, he went out and got another coordinator from u C l A. Things are supposed to be better, but I but I don't believe it. Lincoln Raley, to me, is not a top flight coach. I think he has missed his moment. There. You go back two years ago. Uh, there was so much enthusiasm in that program. He owned LA for a very brief time and Caleb won the Heusan and they had a great season his first year, but they couldn't sustain it. And I think it will be much more difficult now.
Prime Tom Dion Sanders University of Colorado did it started off strong three and oh and then after that they nose dived and obviously won one of their last eight games.
What have you?
We know it's clearly six straight and we know that he's been in the news on a lot of occasions over the last a few months. The sizzle is always with Prime Time.
You know.
I think that he has the potential to be a great coach. I know he's doing it. He's the greatest quarterback that ever lived, and I think that he's an elite motivator. My wish for him is that he had gotten the Florida State job when he wanted it before Colorado ever came along, or he had gotten a job at Texas A and M. That would have been my wish forming competing in the SEC, I think being in bolder Colorado. I don't like his answers, you know, Paul Farnbaum, but your thoughts about Prime Time Deon Sanders and what that program is going to do well.
They owned the college football season last year for about five weeks, and some of it was predicated on upsetting TCU and then beating Nebraska, having people like you, Shannon the Rock others show up and it just infused so much energy that everybody wanted to watch them. And then when they went off the cliff, people turned away. And I don't think they're arding back this season, steven a and I think that's going to frustrate coach Prime. I have great respect for him. He's He's recruited a lot of amazing players. I mean, Travis Hunter might be the best player in the country, but it's not enough. Uh and and it just it's the league is easier this year being in the Big twelve, but he's still to be relevant, has to be a playoff contender, and I don't think they are in the moment that they lose enough games where they're no longer part of the conversation. I think we will all move on to those who matter most, and I think that will drive him crazy. I agree with you. You put him in any number of places, and he can He can recruit the talent. You can only recruit a limited amount of talent too bolder, So I hope he's patient, But ultimately I think that's a dead end job for him.
Do you believe that he'll ultimately get a job at a big time program or do you believe that times are going to be so rough that it could ruin his future prospects of getting a job at a big time program.
I think ads know what he's capable of. Uh Now, some will not hire him. You know that, and I know that. But but there are there are athletic directors out there at good schools who need who need a change agent, who I think will take the chance, by the way, not a chance, make a very smart move. I think there are a lot of places that he could completely turn it, turn it upside down where he would have a legitimate chance. By the way, Auburn's another school that could have had him two years ago, and they ended up hiring Hugh Freeze, who it was run out of the business eight or nine years ago at all miss. But uh, somebody, somebody will take a chance on him, and I think they'll be rewarded. I give Colorado credit for trying. He's changed that, He's made that place at least a conversation piece, but ultimately it's still Colorado and they are never even even with the deon Sanders for to be a significant player in college football.
You know, the next person that I'm going to bring up, I'm incredibly fond of I haven't spoken to him in over a year, but I've always been very, very fond of Dabo. Sweety goes to the National Championship for the national College football players four or five years, won two national championships. Give him a lot of credit where credit is due, no question about it. Over the last several years. The worst season he had was last season where he won nine and four. But I do find myself I can't wait to see him. I got a lot of love for him, but he's old school and he's somebody that seems very averse to the changing times. Doesn't want to adjust and adapt but so much, and I think that actually may get in the way of any future success he's hoping to have at Clemson. Your thoughts about the one and only Davos Sweetey. There was a time when we talked about Saban, we were talking about him, when we talked about Kirby Smart, when we talked about obviously Urban Maya. At the time when he was in college football, we still found ourselves talking about Dabo Sweety. That isn't the case at this particular moment in time. Your thoughts about the Clemson head coach.
It's remarkable what he did. If he played for four national championships, he beat Nick Savan twice, he was in the playoffs a couple more times. But I think I think his term has ended and he's done it to himself. And one on one hand, stephen A, you have to admire him. He's stuck to his principles. He's he's very old school for a guy that's not that old. But it's hard to be old schooled in an age when players have their hands out and they have no loyalty. And I think he's been burned on that. And you know he's in a league now where Florida State is probably a little bit better. I think Miami could be better this year, and I think it makes it more complicated for him to return to prominence. It's it's not impossible to get in the playoffs now he can do that. It's a little bit easier being in a twelve team than it was a four team. But I think the days when we talk about him on a regular basis on shows like yours every morning are over.
Paul far Baull last question. Florida stays open to the season. They kicked up college football season against Georgia Tech Saturday afternoon. First Thinks. First, your thoughts about Florida, the state and what happened to them last year when they wanted picked to be in the College Football Playoff one of the four teams. Did you agree with that decision? Do you believe they got screwed over? What were your thoughts about that.
I completely agreed with the decision to leave them out, and and by the way, I'm sorry they lost a quarterback, Jordan Travis. That's part of that's part of football. You know, had he not been hurt, they probably would have gotten in but I had I frankly thought the team that they got screwed last year wasn't Florida State, it was Georgia.
Uh.
They were better than Florida State. And I'm not I'm not trying to use the sixty three to three score in the Orange Bow as a comparison because so many players had already opted out of Florida State. But Alabama was fortunate to get in. But what the reason why Alabama got in is on the biggest stage of the year in college football. They beat the number one team and that's the last thing that committee saw as first. As far as Saturday, Uh, I think they'll they'll they'll handle Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech's a good as a good program. They're they're they're they're ascending. They beat Miami last year, they beat some Mothers schools. But this to me looks like about a two touchdown game. I think Florida State is not what they were last year, but they're still pretty good. In fact, I like Miami to win the ACC this year. Wow.
Okay, very very last question. Biggest story in college football this season.
Is what it's the playoffs? Because steven A, even though we talk about Alabama and post Saban that will stay away pretty quickly. But why it's so important is you can now lose an early season game. Michigan can lose to Texas, Alabama can drop the Georgia game at the end of September. Ohio State can go to Oregon in October. And it's not over right. I mean, the calculus is that ten and two is probably going to get you in the playoffs. So instead of maybe five or six schools trying for those four spots, you may have twenty schools. And even more important than that, at the end of the season, when things usually start to get pretty stale in college football, well, and it's all about those three or four schools. Now, we have conversations just like you do in the NFL. Are you in the playoffs? Do you have a first round by do you have home field? College football is now the NFL and Steven A the NFL sells well in this country.
One of the best college football an it's one of the best football analysts in America, the one that knowing Paul Farmball blessed me with his presence. Thanks a lot, buddy, I'll see you soon, man, Thank you so much.
The pleasure was mine. Thank you, Steven.
Coming up next, I'll pick my WNBA Player of the Week. Plus there's a recent poll going around about who is the most annoying person in football media. I'll get into that next right here on the Steven A. Smith Show over the digital airways of YouTube and of course iHeart Radio. Back with more in a minute. Welcome back to Steven A. Smiths Show right here with the digital airways of YouTube and of course iHeart Radio. Let me transition to some WNBA news before we get on out of here today, to mention some other stuff that I want to get into before I jump start your weekend. The WNBA League play restarted after the Olympic break at two n O. The Indiana Fever are not the only WNBA team that has an undefeated record. The Atlanta Dream are also undefeated with a three and oh record. They've been led by my w NBA Player of the Week, the one and only Tina Charles, in a team seventy two to sixty three went over the Phoenix Mercury. Tina Charles surpassed Hall of Fame of Tina Thompson to move into second place on the WNBA's All times scoring list behind the Mercurys Diana Tarassi. The game mark Tina's eleventh double double of the season with twelve points in a season high of seventeen rebounds. She's also the second leader rebounder in WNBA history, so this is a future Hall of Famous. She hasn't won on the WNBA level, but you wont a national championship of coming out championships at Yukon if I remember correctly. She's big time and so give up props with its due. I'm just a customer, you know. When I thought about the youa be played, I see who can I pick other than Asia Wilson Because I'd give it to Asa Wilson every week because she's just phenomenal, Okay, you know, and Kaylyn Clark is coming on strong as she's doing a thing, and we can't ignore that. Okay. But Tina Charles, major major props. You congratulations, keep up the great, great work you deserve. I love and respect. Congratulations. Moving on, the calendar says August, not March. But guess who has found himself in the middle of a damn bracket battle? Wah I had a football season. Kicking off sports blog The Spun has released its bracket of the sixty four most Annoying People in Football Media, and I'm one of the number one seeds alongside Skip Baylors's, Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright. I defeated Greg Olsen a round one and now I face off against my buddy, the one and only Carissa Thompson in a round two. Most Annoying people in Football Media, that's what this is. I don't know how the hell I ended up on that list, but let me say this for a couple of things. To the spun. Your list is trash. Your list is trash. Your bracket is trash. It's trash. Okay, I'm gonna tell you to your face. First of all, how the hell you have Carissa Thompson on the list. She's gorgeous, she's smart, she's good people, she's my friend. How you have he? Who does she annoy? Really? Come on, now stop that. Ain't nobody looking at Carissa Thompson at the word of annoyance comes to their mind. I'm sorry, I don't believe that for one second. All right, you want to throw Skip Bayless on there along with myself, and right, that's just hey to raid me throwing that. All right, feel free. You know what I'm saying. I'm still here. I know y'all love me, I said, you certainly talk about me enough. It's good for the ratings, ain't it. It's good for the clicks. Ain't it tell the true? Tell true? I said, I know, I know that's what it is, all right, But I ain't gonna knock you for it. Number two, How the hell could you have Colin Cowherd but Nick right on that list. First of all, let me say this about Colin caihurt because my day jobs at ESPN. Obviously he's at Fox Sports, he used to be at ESPN. Please understand that Colin Cowherd is one of the greatest radio holes she'll ever see, one of the best ever. I have no shame in saying that Colin Cowherd is special. He's an elite storyteller, incredibly knowledgeable, very friendly. I don't believe has a vicious bone in his body, a vicious soul at all. He's incredibly talented, very credible, and his opinions and perspectives come from thoughtful places all the time. Colin Cowherd is a treasure and a tribute to this industry. And he is somebody I have profound respect for, and anybody that I know that knows anything about this business has profound respect for that man. How the hell is he on your most annoying list How that's just nonsense? And by the way, Nick Wright shouldn't be on the eight. I don't give a damn that they go to quote unquote competition. I respect both of them. They are my colleagues and contemporaries in this business, and they have earned far more respect than the spawn has, even though I'm rooting for you, because I ain't rooting against anybody. But how does Nick Wright end up on there? How? How is Greg Olsen on there to be beat? You just put people on there and just that the hell with it. We just gonna put every announce, every commentator on there, and we'll just have a bracket with all of them. Is that what it is? Because Greg Osen is an award with a I don't find him annoying. He's the reason Tom Brady got to show up and show out because Tom Brady's filling in some big shoes. Greg Olson shouldn't be on that annoying listening, And damn sure not Nick Right or Colin Kurr, but especially not Colin Kurr. You want to say I'm a bit annoying. I don't know where you would get that from it being a very lovable guy, I really really am. I mean, I don't know if you notice it or not, but I am loved. I really am. I don't know how the word annoying would come to my mind. I don't bother people. But okay, keep me on there, keep skipping there. Colin Cowrd, you want to keep Nick right on there? Okay, you know I love Nick, that's my man. But you know, if other people are out their taste they want to find of annoying, that's fine. But Colin Kerr, really, I'm not buying that, bro, I'm not buying that. Before I get on out of here for the day, let me check out for the weekend. Rather, let's check out some of the tweets you've sent to me, so you know I might not respond if you get on my damn nerves. It depends how annoying the damn tweeters. I'll make that decision. You know, no pun intended with the annoying. But let's get to it right here. I can't see who is that the founder at what's the Twitter handle's name? Ponder that ponder that rights who wins in a cage fight, The Rizzler or Big Justice? You know what I like the Rizzler. The Rizzler looked like he he was just born to hurt somebody. That's what he looks like. He looked like he was just born to hurt somebody. I know, Big Justice with the way to it looks a little bigger, looking a little bit older. But the Rizzler looks like a little menace, like he'll find a way. He looks like one of those dudes that's gonna end up being a wrestler and somebody cheats and knock you over the here with a chair while the referee looking, and he'll fall on you and get you tapped out. That's what the Rizzler looks like. He looked like one of those dudes with that kind of potential. I gotta assume he'll find a way to win. That's just me. Let me get to the next one right here, Please let me show you. Let me see what the next tweet is at bet Boy's part, right, Stephen A. Smith, who is your most hated athlete of all time? Honest to truth, no one. No, there's never an athlete. I hate it that as a particular a pundit that I despise. I think he's a seed of the devil. But I'm not gonna bother saying his name again because he's useless to me. But I'll tell you this, an athlete, No, I've never hated an athlete. I've hated some things they've done, but I've never been one to believe that their worst act defines their character no matter who they are. You know, I've gotten into my shear beefs over the years. There was a time Alan Iverson and I haven't talk for eight months. I still love him like a brother than other time he talked for two years. I still love him like a brother, and we're very tight now. I remember when I had a bee for Glenn Big Doug Robinson, and then I grew the hell up and recognized that I was wrong because I shouldn't have contributed to things the way that I did. Recently, you've seen the Stephen Jackson's of the World or t os of the World. I love Stephen Jackson. I disagreed with what he said about me and how I tried to write me off or whatever, but I got nothing but love for Draymond. Was upset to me. I got so much love for Draymond. I can't put it in the words. He's a good brother. Don't talk much to Lebron, incredible role model. We all owe Lebron something. I respect and revered the hell out of that man for who he is and what he's accomplished. I just don't think he's the greatest ever. I think that's Michael Jordan. He's number two, even with arryl Owens. Whatever disagreements or beef we say. I'm not here to tell you that arryl Owens is a bad person or I hate him or anything like that. We had a disagreement. I still wish him nothing but the best, all the happiness in the world. I ain't rule against him. Athletes they go through a lot, and if we're being honest, we put them through a lot and a lot of things that they go through most of us can't stomach. I think I can, but most folks can't. And the level of fairness and the humanity we should throw in their direction. Some people don't do that. I believe I do, but some people don't, and they deal with a lot of bs that they shouldn't have to deal with, and I take those things into consideration when I'm being judged, when I'm being judgmental about their character, and I do everything that I can to make sure that I compartmentalize and I isolate the difference between what they do and actually who they are. So to answer your question directly from your tweet, I don't hate any athlete. I don't think. I think a vast majority if not there, I say practically all of them are not hateable. Could be annoying, could be upsetting, could be somebody that you don't want to mess with. You just don't want to keep being around because you live your life. I live mine a whole bit. But with what they go through, it's hard to hate them. If you know, people who've endured far less but end up being far more of a worse and more despicable human being have been outside the athletic strategy. To be honest with you, and I'll just leave it that. That's the this edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show. I hope y'all enjoyed it. I know I did. I had to get a bunch of stuff off my chest. About Kamala Harrison last night, and of course talking to Paul farn Bob was a beautiful thing, and I met what I said about being misrepresented with you know, with that caption of that headline I started off the show with, that's neither it nor there. That's why I got a podcast in the show, because I get to correct the error of other people's ways at my damn discretion, which I will always do, maybe not always when I feel like how about that. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your weekend, Peace of love. Appreciate your continued support of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Remember what I keep telling you, keep it coming, and I'm gonna keep on coming. Until next time, everybody, Peace of love. I'm out.
