Stephen A. Smith??

Sporting Goods

So on top of the Sports Illustrated story, Stephen A. Smith now has a little puff piece in the New York Times.

I don't like Stephen A. Smith. I don't like being yelled at. Often his opinions don't make a lot of sense. In fact, the Times article has three grafs that sum up everything I don't like about him, even though I don't think they mean to.

"I have opinions that are based on the facts that are presented to me," he said over pancakes and eggs that he barely ate in a Midtown hotel, as his cellphone occasionally rang. "I don't apologize. I stand by it. If I'm hated, so what? If I'm loved, so what?"

How's that for a perfect out. My opinions are based on the facts presented to me. He admits that he has no interest in learning about anything before offering his opinion. It is just the facts that are given to him. And being wrong doesn't mean anything. Admit you were wrong?

Like most studio analysts, Mr. Smith delivers his opinions with an air of absolute certainty. If he is ever wrong, he said, it's because sources have lied to him. "Unless you're a fly on the wall, you're only as good as your sources," he said.

And finally, he who is loudest, wins:

Six years later, when he started his television career at the now-defunct cable network CNN/SI, he seemed to intuitively grasp what all panelists on sports and political shows know: that the loudest, the most argumentative, even the rudest voice will get the most attention.

Stephen A. Smith highlights everything that is wrong with ESPN. And the sad thing is that ESPN likes it this way.

"Stephen A. is ringing a bell," said Mark Shapiro, an executive vice president of ESPN. "People like him and dislike him, but they still watch him. These days, it's hard to find a talent who strikes a chord that way. Polarization is a commodity." He added: "We're in the hit-making business. And Stephen A. is a game-changer."

Huh? I thought ESPN was in the sports reporting business. No wonder it is almost impossible to watch now.