As ESPN continues to spread Smith here, there and everywhere, Smith continues to generate more heat but almost no light. And while we understand that ESPN execs are busy turning ESPN into an attitude mill, are they unaware that for every pound of strong, loud, controversial opinions Smith produces, they often don’t contain even an ounce of substance?
Or is that what ESPN likes about him?
Could be. Who knows? Smith, if nothing else, is provocative. He daily provokes head-shaking wonder, as in, what the heck is ESPN thinking about?
Could it be that Smith’s urban street-hip brotha yak ” which he seems able to turn on and off with the drop of a Kangol ” is supposed to appeal/pander to young, urban, street-talkin’ sports fans?
That Stephen A. is very often, Full Of Shit For A Living, is not something I wish to dispute. But the Mushminded One would have you believe that that Smith’s spiel requires a Jive Translator ala “Airplane”. Which isn’t just an exaggeration, it’s a full-fledged slur.
If Smith owns a Kangol, I’ve never seen him wear one on the air. Why couldn’t Phil just make a gratuitious reference to gold chains? There’s a better than 50/50% chance that Max Kellerman has owned a Kangol (or at least visited a store that sold them), but I suppose some forms of urban street hip-brotha yak are more destructive than others.
Smith is meant to appeal to casual sports fans under the age of 100. If Phil doesn’t fall into this demographic, so be it, but Stephen A.’s lack of knowledge and his mannerisms are two entirely different topics. I mean, I could pick on Phil all day long for having bugs in his beard, but that has nothing to do with his inability to do his job. Is Smith any more or less ferociously annoying than Mel Kiper Jr., Ron Jaworski, Rob Dibble, Skip Bayless, John Kruk or Jim Rome? However you answer that question, Smith gets his ass kicked by Mushnick far more often than all of the above combined.
Did you notice that Phil submitted Steve Carrell as a lookalike of Chris Russo, carefully mentioning that Carrell is the star of the forthcoming “40 Year Old Virgin”? Pretty funny coming from a guy who has all the sex appeal of the Simpsons’ Dr. Marvin Monroe come to life.
steven a. doesn’t know baseball, but i’m a fan. I’d even listen to his opinions on hockey, seeing as he’s a loudmouth entertainer, not an insightful commentator.
he entertains me, mush-head doesn’t.
As an avowed A. Stephen Smith hater, I have to admit that the two episodes of “Quite Frankly” were quite good. Show #1 had the most real Allen Iverson interview I’ve ever seen, and the “Being Larry Brown” followup was a compelling look behind the scenes of that crazy Pistons firing. Until he runs out of cronies- and as long as he stays several blocks away from Greg Anthony, or anyone with a sensible opinion- A.S.S. has got a pretty good show. So far.
Im with CSTB on this one – how Mushnick doesnt get flagged for painting a guy with the wrong brush is beyond me. SAS is a grandiose windbag, but he’s not pushing ‘urban street-hip brotha yak’ – not by any stretch. So by Phil’s standards, if you’re an African-American broadcaster and not Ed Bradley, you’re doing some sort of thug routine?
Pete Vecsey drops more hip hop references in an average column than SAS does in an average broadcast.
Let’s attack the Post! Boycott!
TH!
loser plain and simple another phil
OK, KOBE HATERS. WHY IS IT THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO HERE SHACK SPEAKING (TAKING CHEAP SHOTS AT KOBE AFTER EVERY WIN LAST YEAR) LIKE A BITTER EX GIRL FRIEND. EVERY TIME KOBE MADE A COMMENT IT WAS IN RESPONCE TO A REMARK OR INSULT FROM SHAQ OR PHIL. THERE IS AN OLD SAYING “TIME WILL TELL”. DON’T YOU THINK THAT IF SHAQ STAYED IN SHAPE INSTED OF JUST DEMANDING THE BALL (THE SAME WAY SOME OF YOU SAY KOBE DOES KNOW BUT SHAQ DEMANDED THE BALL HAVING 2 SOME TIMES MORE THAN 3 POTENTUAL ALLSTARS ON HIS TEAM OR TEAMS. LET’S NOT FORGET HE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM IN ORLANDO WITH PENNY, 3D AND OTHERS. THEY DIDN’T WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP BEACAUSE NONE OF THOSE GUYS HAD THE BALLS TO STAND UP TO SHAQ AND HIS WINEING DAD IF NOT FOR THE SAME MENTAL AND PHYSICAL STREANGTH THAT YOU GUYS ARE JUST STARTING TO NOTICE IN KOBE KNOW IN LIGHT OF WHAT HE HAS BEEN THROUGH TO KEEP AND ADVANCE HIS GAME SHAQ WOULD NOT HAVE A RING AND HE WOULD HAVE HIMSELF AND HIS FATHER TO THANK FOR THAT.) WHY DID IT TAKE HIME LEAVING LA. AND GOING TO MIAMI (NO ONE ON THAT TEAM IS BETTER THAN KOBE) FOR HIME TO REALIZE THAT HE IS NOT THE BEST PLAYER ON THE TEAM AND THAT WHEN YOU DO NOT STAY IN SHAPE AND START TO AGE, IT WAS TIME FOR HIM TO DIFFER. HE COULD HAVE 7 – 10 RINGS AT THIS TIME IF HE WERE REALY THE TEAM PLAYER THAT HE CLAIMS KOBE NOT TO BE. BUT INSTEAD HE’S LIKE A PARISITE SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF ANY TEAM OR ORGANIZATION NOT STRONG MINDED ENOUGHP TO STAND UP TO HIS SELF HIPE. HE HATED PENNY AND KOBE FOR BEING THE HANDSOME HEADLINERS, AND ONLY KNOW THAT HE REALIZES THAT KOBE WAS RIGHT BY CALLING HIM FAT AND ALLSO HE IS AGEING NOW HE DECIDES TO DIFFER. THE BIG SEWER HAS BEEN STINKING UP THE PLACE FOR YEARS YOU GUYS JUST HAD NOSE PLUGS IN. OH DON’T LEAVE OUT PHIL. HE HAS COACHED KOBE AND MICHEAL. HE KNOWS WHO IS THE BETTER TALLENT BUT MICHAEL IS A LONG TIME FRIEND AND KOBE, WELL I NEED NOT SAY ANYTHING.ALL OF YOU CAN SAY WHAT YOU WISH BUT KOBE’S GAME WILL SPEAK FOR HIM AND EVENTUALLY ALL THE HATTERS WILL HAVE TO JUST SHUT UP.(CHARLES NO RING BARKLEY).
thanks, Kelvin, for staying on topic and leaning really hard on that caps lock.
Phil Mushnick rules! He is right on target with Steven A. Smith.
Phil is a racist pig. I have watched Quite Frankly. Not once did Stephen A. refer to hip-hop culture. In fact, I believe Stephen A. bashed some rappers because they are misogynist lyrics. Mush-mind is ignorant, and his ignorances exposed his racist beliefs.