Stephen A. Smith Sure Is Reaping The Benefits Of Allen Iverson's 'Retirement'

Stephen A. Smith has been everywhere recently, propping himself up as the "go-to guy" for all things Allen Iverson-related. Smith "broke" the retirement story, and now he's got his hands all over an "exclusive" report regarding Iverson's future on FoxSports.com.

Smith, who is employed by FoxSports Radio, is now reporting, in a "Special to FOXSports.com" that Iverson may sign a contract and return to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, the team where he played the best basketball of his career.

Numerous team sources confirmed on Friday that the 76ers' brass has already talked - and talks will only escalate this weekend - about bringing Iverson back to Philadelphia. Possibly as early as next week."

SAS also reports that if Iverson does in fact end up signing with the 76ers, there is no doubt he will start, thereby eliminating the source of much of the friction Iverson caused during his stops in Detroit and Memphis. A source with the team maintains that they have "nothing to lose by bringing Iverson back" and that the team is "very boring right now."

As you may recall, Smith returned to writing columns for The Philadelphia Inquirer on November 12th and the fact that he keeps publishing columns for other media entities is puzzling, to say the least. But of course, there has to be a method to Smith's madness. They don't just hand out acting gigs on to anyone.

Sixers appear ready to bring back Iverson [FoxSports] Columnist Breaks Iverson Retirement Story Elsewhere [Maynard Institute] (previously on Deadspin) The Trailer Has Cheesy Doodles, Right?