smith Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Ben Simmons is dreaming of taking his street clothes back to Philly
It’s that time of year when we get these Ben Simmons workout videos where he’s in the gym shooting baskets, lifting weights, knocking down three-point shots, and performing like an actual NBA star. But once the regular season rolls around (if he even plays), he morphs back into the guy who can’t see...
Mac Jones operating without a net in New England
For the second consecutive season, the New England Patriots are taking an unconventional approach to their quarterback room. A year after letting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge do some on-the-job learning as co-offensive coordinators, the team cut backup quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham. ...
HBO's 'BS High' doc is somehow more truthful than 'Swamp Kings'
I normally have a firm policy against critiquing any work that I have not entirely consumed. That is an edict that I was almost completely comfortable breaking away from as soon as I saw the trailer for Netflix’s Swamp Kings. Everything in it suggests a somewhat compelling watch, except for the firs...
Mookie Betts, not Ronald Acuña Jr., is the NL MVP
We’d all be better off if every MVP award was simply renamed, “Player Of The Year,” as it would save us a very annoying and tiresome debate about what “valuable” means. It gets doubly so in baseball, where we still haven’t quite escaped what numbers people should pay attention to, and what is overbl...
Texas Rangers' current slide is tanking their chances at postseason redemption
How the tables have turned. On Aug. 15, the Texas Rangers were riding high, 24 games over .500, and in cruise control to the playoffs, if not an American League West title. Aug. 15 now happens to be the last time Bruce Bochy’s team has won. The Rangers are on a seven-game losing streak, including an...
Jerry Jones thinks Sam Williams arrest on weapons, substance and speeding charges is sign of 'maturing'
While half of America’s electorate swoons over a reprobate ex-president, a man who was once nicknamed “America’s Mayor,” and his loyalists’ mugshots, America’s Team has embraced the same recidivism in a desperate bid to halt the Cowboys’ 30-year Super Bowl drought. Jerry Jones’ response following Da...
Skip Bayless’ new <i>Undisputed</i> co-hosts mean more ex-athletes replacing journalists
Screaming and arguing are in. Context and nuance are out. And over at FS1, the decibel levels just got louder, while the conversations just got dumber....
Shannon Sharpe partnering with Colin Cowherd's The Volume is sure to make some noise
NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe is taking his talents to….The Volume. Sharpe made the announcement via social media Wednesday morning that he’s entered a partnership with Colin Cowherd and The Volume to bring his podcast, “Club Shay Shay,” to the network. So, now we’ve got Sharpe and Draym...
Did Rogers Centre kill Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s power?
Whenever the post-mortem is compiled on this Toronto Blue Jays season — they’re still very much in the hunt for a wildcard spot — it won’t be hard to find culprits for how they didn’t quite manage to take the next step from a good team to a power that most in Ontario were expecting (feels like a the...
Skip Bayless’ reign may finally be coming to an end
Skip Bayless is viewed as the godfather of this “embrace debate” culture that has consumed sports media over the past 15 years. The FS1 Undisputed host has been around to lend his disconcerting commentary style to some of the most significant events in sports for the better part of five decades. How...
Baker Mayfield’s whiteness keeps getting him NFL starting QB jobs
Baker Mayfield didn’t do anything wrong. The crime that keeps getting committed is done by the owners, general managers, and coaches who keep giving him endless opportunities. If Mayfield can keep being named a starter in the NFL, then Nathan Peterman will always have a shot at being on a team’s pay...
Dan Orlovsky is drunk on New York Jets green Kool-Aid
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky has become one of Stephen A. Smith’s regular adversaries on First Take over the past few years. He’s become well known for some of his hot takes on the show, but Orlovsky is best known for running out of the back of his own end zone while playing for the Detroit L...
James Harden's agent thinks we aren't paying attention
The James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers soap opera is becoming the biggest NBA storyline of the summer that looks like it’ll carry over into the 2023-24 regular season. Now, Harden’s agent, Troy Payne, is trying to sell folks on the prospects of James climbing back up the mountain to league MVP status....
10 NFL players, team units everyone thinks will be bad this season, but won't be
Assumptions can be a dangerous thing. Take the preseason conversation surrounding Tua Tagovailoa last season. There were signs that the Miami Dolphins’ third-year quarterback was about to make a quantum leap, but he was mostly ignored in lieu of cheapshots at his arm strength. The same is true for 2...
Stephen A. Smith has all the juice at ESPN
Sports media members are no more forthcoming with their career deals than the players whom we cover, and many times even less so. We are far more replaceable than people who are 6-foot-8 with 35-inch vertical leaps. Therefore most of us wait until the press release comes out before making any public...
Fred Toucher interrupts Jets talk to call Mike Greenberg a 'no-talent pr*ck'
Mike Greenberg has been a staple of ESPN for nearly three decades. He’s famously known as one half of the Mike & Mike morning radio show, which aired on ESPN networks from 2000-17. Greeny, as he’s affectionately known by many, has never been the rah-rah, flashy, over-the-top type of personality like...
Bill Belichick is up to his same old tricks, and they may not be good enough anymore
The Ezekiel Elliott signing was a solid move by Bill Belichick. Elliott may no longer be the athlete who cleared opposing defenders the way that he cleared high hurdles as a high school track and field star, but he is still a football player who can contribute to a winning team. Any extra depth is w...
Vlatko Andonovski was bad at a very tough job
If one didn’t want to kick dirt on Vlatko Andonovski as he recedes from the USWNT manager job, and kicking dirt is kind of what we do around here, it would be wise to point out the size of the task he was faced with. He took over a team that had won two World Cups on the spin, so there was really no...
It’s time to get over it: LeBron James isn't the GOAT
It isn’t often that I agree with Stephen A. Smith. But this time, I must admit he’s right in his assessment of LeBron James and his camp. Smith appeared on Paul George’s Podcast P show and told a story about an interaction with James’ agent/business partner/friend, Rich Paul. SAS says Paul gives him...
10 NFL teams everyone thinks will be good this season, but won't be
Every team had a great offseason. All those gaping, even-the-blind-can-see problems your favorite team had no longer exist. Here’s where a path to greatness starts. Of course for most, that won’t be true. The heavy hitters didn’t go away and until your favorite players get hit in the mouth, all the ...