Whether Steven A. Smith is on Quite Frankly, NBA Fastbreak, or his New York-based sports radio show, there is one thing of which the viewer can be absolutely certain: He will be yelling.
Why he yells is up for debate, but a few of my theories include Smith either being completely deaf, partially deaf, or just an idiot. Or maybe the real reason why Smith refuses to use his inside voice or remember that a mic'ed up person need not yell is that he is overcompensating for his lack of actual analystic ability.
Anyone who has ever listened to Stephen A. string together more than two sentences knows he is a man who hates research of any kind. If you are a statistic, he wants nothing to do with you. If you are a question that can be answered with a simple 15-second Google search, then you are dead to Stephen A. Smith.
Instead, Smith works under the belief that the person who yells the loudest and the longest is the one who has the best argument. Wrong, Stephen A. It just makes you look like the biggest dumbass in the room.
However, not all of the blame can be placed on Smith, who did not hire himself. He is just the poster boy for a disturbating trend in sports analysis. More and more television producers and executives for sports-themed shows are hiring "controversial, opinionated" analysts in favor of those who actually know what the hell they are talking about.
Shows which should be built on a foundation of information aren't. Helpful statistics are ignored. Rather, former professional or collegiate players who supposedly "know" the sport are employed ostensibly to yell and then giggle hysterically after said yelling. The result is a lowering of the sports IQ of everyone involved, viewer and yeller alike.
That being said, I ask all sports analysts with a penchant for yelling for a cease fire. See what the sports world is like when you speak at a reasonable volume and use your company computers for more than just playing FreeCell.
Until then, enjoy sounding like a moron.
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Article comments
1 - RJ Elliott
Love it! :)
2 - MCH
Look, he's still better than the "overrated" Rush Limbaugh.
3 - RJ Elliott
MCH:
What does Rush Limbaugh have to do with Stephen A. Smith in particular, and sports analysts in general?
Yeah, I know, Rush was an ESPN "sports analyst" for a few weeks, a few years ago. But your comment is still pretty much apropos of nothing...
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
RJ, you wouldn't understand because you never served in the army.
Did you know Rush had a cyst on his ass and didn't serve? Lolerzz!!!!!!!!1!!!!Q!
5 - Matthew T. Sussman
Ahem (Clears throat)
I heard a story about Screamin' A. Smith sending in his Inky column back to the paper through a BlackBerry because he was on the road with ESPN.
A sports column. Through a BlackBerry. There's your journalism, folks.
(By the way -- SAS's columns aren't half bad compared to his TV persona.)
6 - MCH
"I heard a story about Screamin' A. Smith sending in his Inky column back to the paper through a BlackBerry because he was on the road with ESPN.
A sports column. Through a BlackBerry. There's your journalism, folks."
Yeah, perhaps if he had your skill and expertise he could get a 2-paragraph letter printed in Sports Illustrated.
7 - Matthew T. Sussman
You say that, MCH, as if I've made that letter to the editor the lynchpin of my writing portfolio. At the time it was pretty cool to see it in print, but I actually had forgotten about it until you brought it up, and haven't really thought about it for almost over a year.
The fact that you somehow care enough to look up my old pennings either says a lot about the amount of your spare time or says something about my place in the sports journalism world. Take your pick.
8 - MCH
"The fact that you somehow care enough to look up my old pennings either says a lot about the amount of your spare time or says something about my place in the sports journalism world. Take your pick."
Actually, "the fact" is the only reason I know about it is because you've boasted about in on BC.
"...but I actually had forgotten about it until you brought it up..."
Not true, Sussman, you've made it public on BC at least once since then. Please spare the false modesty.
9 - RJ Elliott
MCH: Making friends with the non-anonymous as usual...
10 - Ken Edwards
Wow. I could not agree more about Steven A., and Quite Frankly, Charles Barkley on TNT usually has more statistical research behind him. Which is a sad fact, considering Steven A. is a journo and all.