Not even Charles Barkley is safe when Stephen A. Smith goes on a long-winded rant.
Barkley has already commented on Smith potentially running for president multiple times over the past few months. The Hall of Famer made it clear that he's not exactly eager to vote for the ESPN personality.
Earlier this month, Barkley appeared on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich." When talking about Smith, he suggested the "First Take" analyst should tone down his media exposure.
"Stephen A.’s a friend of mine, but he needs to stop right now," Barkley said. "My friends close to me give me a lot of credit. And I’m not blowing my own horn, I want to be on TV as less as possible, to be honest with you. That’s why I only do a couple of commercials a year. I don’t go on a bunch of shows. Less is more. Because the more you do, the less people take you serious."
Clearly, that didn't sit well with Smith.
On the latest episode of Smith's self-titled YouTube show, he ripped Barkley's remarks. He also referred to the "Inside the NBA" analyst as a flaming hypocrite.
"That’s my guy, but that doesn’t mean I always agree with him. And it doesn’t mean that I’m devoid of the right to call him a flaming hypocrite when it’s called upon," Smith said, via Fox News Digital. "Do y’all know how many commercials Charles Barkley does a year? He’ll tell us two. Have you seen Charles Barkley in two commercials? Are you kidding me?
"Oh, by the way, the cat that you work with at least twice a week during the NBA season is Shaquille O’Neal. Can we count the amount of endorsements he has? How often he’s seen everywhere? What new product he’s pitching? Did you say that about him? No, you didn’t. But when it comes to me, I need to be ‘careful.' And this isn’t directed at Charles Barkley. This is directed at all the folks out there – I’m making people out there – I’m making people very uncomfortable."
After reading those remarks from Smith, it's fair to say he won't scale back his schedule.
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For as sloppy as the New York Knicks have been throughout the vast majority of the 21st century, they've been fairly clean halfway through managing the 2020s. They entered the decade without many assets, but over time drafted, signed and traded their way into one of last season's Eastern Conference Finalists and a team that can continue contending for several more years. They aren't without their occasional missteps, though, and their biggest roster mistake was recently catalogued by ESPN in compiling the most notable such instances from every franchise over the last five years. The Knicks got away from the list nearly unscathed, with their dud arriving in the form of a four-year Evan Fournier contract and registering as the third-least impactful on the power ranking. "The Knicks added Fournier via a sign-and-trade on the strength of a two-year run in which he averaged 18 points per game and made 40% of his 3s. But after averaging a respectable 14 points in 80 games in his first season in New York, Fournier's game fell apart," Zach Kram wrote. "He averaged just 6 points in 27 games in his second season and missed New York's playoff run because of an injury, then averaged 4 points in three games in his third season before moving to Detroit at the deadline." His lone productive season in New York was the one year in which the Tom Thibodeau-led Knicks missed the playoffs, and he was quickly out of the league after his short stint with the Detroit Pistons, back to playing in Europe before the four years he originally signed for had finished up. The Knicks rebounded, compiling numerous multifaceted wings and forwards who could offer more beyond Fournier's once-proficient 3-point shooting, enough to spare the Knicks from anything more severe than the "Small-scale problems" tier of ESPN's ranking.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, in back-to-back offseasons, traded away a talented wide receiver. Heading into the 2024 NFL season, the team made the surprising decision to move on from Diontae Johnson, sending him to the Carolina Panthers. It was a bold move that left questions about depth behind George Pickens, but the Steelers appeared to have a long-term plan in mind. This week, fans got a clearer picture. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky had told Louis Riddick a story and Riddick exposed it on Get Up on Wednesday and shared a never-before-told story about Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s relationship with Pickens. According to Riddick, Tomlin once passionately defended his coaching approach to Orlovsky when questioned about how he handled Pickens, offering a glimpse into the challenges the Steelers faced behind closed doors. "I sat in a TV production meeting where Mike Tomlin chastised Dan Orlovsky for asking about George Pickens and why George Pickens wasn't maybe being reprimanded a little bit harsher," Riddick said. "And Mike in no uncertain terms, said, 'Look, you don't give up on talent like this at this point.' So trust me, he knew what he had on his hands, too. As far as the upside of this young man." While the full story behind Pickens’ departure may never be known, it’s becoming increasingly clear that off-field concerns weighed heavily on Tomlin’s mind. The Steelers knew Pickens was a rare talent, and that’s why Tomlin didn’t punish him as much as he probably could have. It wasn’t because he thought Pickens was good enough to get away with it, but because his coaching style is different for every player. In Tomlin’s mind, he still had faith that Pickens would mature, but it appears that growth just didn’t happen fast enough. "We were all, were like, whoa," Riddick said of the panels reaction to Tomlin's secret comments in that production meeting. "Mike was not playing around. He was like, 'Y'all know how this business works now.'" Riddick described the moment as tense, and as the quotes are now being shared, Steelers fans are likely picturing exactly how that meeting went down. Tomlin is known for being a direct, no-nonsense leader. If something bothers him, he speaks up, and it appears he did not appreciate being questioned by Orlovsky about his coaching style when it came to Pickens. Steelers Fans Starting To Understand More Details Behind The George Pickens Trade According to Riddick, Tomlin firmly defended his approach during the exchange. He explained that his coaching style depends on the individual player, and with Pickens, he chose to be patient rather than overly critical. Tomlin believed Pickens could grow with time and guidance. In his mind, treating every player the same does not always produce the best results, and he trusted that Pickens would eventually mature. Despite Tomlin’s belief in his potential, that growth never fully happened. As a result, the Steelers chose to make a change. With Pickens now gone and Metcalf brought in to lead the wide receiver room, Pittsburgh is turning the page. Still, the story behind Pickens’ exit is one that will stick with fans, especially as more behind-the-scenes details continue to surface.
The Rolling Stones knew what they were talking about while belting out "You Can't Always Get What You Want." It's very possible New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will find himself humming that tune ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline. The Yankees, like several contenders, are shopping for a power-hitting third baseman. Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star slugger Eugenio Suarez sits atop everyone's list. Running a distant second and third are Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon and Pittsburgh Pirates Gold Glover Ke'Bryan Hayes. After that, it could be slim pickings. Should Cashman find himself scrambling to make a deal, here are a couple of new names entering the conversation. "Amed Rosario would be a good fit for Yankees," the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Monday. "Played a lot of 3B this year. .802 lifetime OPS vs. lefties (.845 this year). Suarez is top target but many would qualify as upgrades." Rosario is hitting .271 with five home runs and 18 RBIs this season for the Washington Nationals. But the nine-year veteran has big-market experience, making his MLB debut with the New York Mets in 2017. The 29-year-old is making $2 million this season and will be a free agent after the World Series, according to Spotrac. But wait, there's more. "Other possible third-base trade targets include Royals All-Star Maikel Garcia — in theory, Kansas City would have interest in one of the Yankees’ outfielders to play left field for them," The Athletic's Jim Bowden reported Monday. Garcia, who made the American League roster for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, is hitting .291 this season with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. The 25-year-old is in his fourth big-league season and is making almost $775,000 this season, according to Spotrac. Garcia still has four years of arbitration eligibility remaining, so he won't come cheap. Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more! MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees Linked To Red-Hot Reliever Yankees Linked to Former Outfielder in Juicy Trade Rumor Yankees Could Land Infielder With World Series MVP Comparison Will Yankees Use Red-Hot Prospect As Trade Bait? Yankees One-Stop Shopping Pirates?
WNBA players sent a message to the league with T-shirts they wore ahead of the All-Star Game on Saturday night, but the ratings for the game did not exactly strengthen their stance. Prior to the All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., Caitlin Clark and other players warmed up in shirts that said “Pay us what you owe us” across the front. The message had to do with the current state of collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the WNBA and WNBA Player’s Association. Unfortunately for the players, the television ratings for the game were not very good. Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported on Tuesday that the WNBA All-Star Game drew 2.19 million viewers on ABC, which was down roughly 36% from a year ago. Last year’s game featured the WNBA All-Stars against the Team USA squad that was preparing to compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris. The dip in ratings is likely another example of the type of impact Clark has had on the WNBA. Although she was a team captain for this year’s All-Star Game, Clark did not play due to a groin injury. Clark played in last year’s game for the All-Star side, as she did not make the Team USA Olympic roster. Many fans were outraged that she was snubbed from the Olympic team, which added an element of intrigue to the All-Star Game. There is no way of knowing for certain whether more fans would have watched the All-Star Game on Saturday night had Clark played. It is a safe guess, however, especially when you look at some recent trends for the league.
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