Club Shay Shay - Stephen A. Smith

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

Legendary sports journalist Stephen A. Smith visits Club Shay Shay to chop it up with Shannon about everything going on in the sports world. Both have experience working with Skip Bayless, so Stephen A. and Shannon share stories from their respective experiences working with Skip at "First Take" and "Undisputed". Stephen A. also dives into the importance of HBCUs, Jayson Tatum being better than Luka Dončić, Devin Booker's "Mamba Mentality" being stronger than Jimmy Butler's, and the real GOAT of the NBA. Is it LeBron James or Michael Jordan? #Volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the Insiders podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. That crabs in the barrel mentality, blah, blah, blah. Nah, man, we showing something different. You know, first take, I've been blessed and fortunate enough throwing shade on nobody. We've been number one for 12 years. We're going to be number one for 13.

It's just that simple. And 14. And damn it, if I do it for 15, it's going to be 15. That's the way it's going to be. That's how my mentality is. And I don't root for anybody to fail. I just root to be the best. Right.

And there's a difference. And as far as I'm concerned, anybody that's with me, we the best. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice. Hustle paid the price. Want to slice. Got to roll the dice. That's why all Shay. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the propriet edition of Club Shea Shea. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shea Shea.

And for my first partnership with the volume, I knew I had to land someone big. He's not big. He's huge. He's ginormous. He's a legendary sports journalist, a featured commentator, premier analyst, famed host, veteran reporter, podcaster, actor, writer, executive producer, businessman, New York Times bestselling author, one of the most recognizable on-air personalities, not just sports personalities, personalities on television, a cultural icon, and he's also an HBCU alum, Stephen A. Smith.

My brother. Bro. Bro, we here. What's up, baby? We here, but you keep knocking my brakes. I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry, man. No, we good. My brother. Bro! Bro, we here. What's up, man? We here. You keep knocking my brakes. I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry, man.

I ain't know I can break anything on you. Yeah, yeah. You can choose right there. Yeah, bro. I mean, I'm going to be able to keep this one because every time I hug somebody, it comes off. We good. Bro, how you doing? It's good to see you, bro.

How you doing? I promise you I'll be here. I'm here. I need you to tell the people what you went through because you promised me this because we've been trying to get this thing together for a little over six weeks now. And I said, Stephen, can you can you do Tuesday at noon? Yeah. And you said, I do it. But I want you to tell the people the length in which you went through to get here at noon. Well, what happened is, is that my pastor for the Christian Cultural Center in New York City, Pastor A.R. Bernard, had a fundraising event at a golf tournament in Long Island. Right. And so they were honoring me the night before I came here and I had to play some golf, which I don't play.

So obviously I had to embarrass myself for a few hours for every one. There's no footage. There's no footage. for a few hours for every one there's no footage there's no footage not that i know not that i know i'm not that i know but but for every one good shot i hit uh i hit about about five to ten bad shots or whatever but then after i did that um i promised you i was gonna get here in time so i had to take the private jet get up here in time and uh i flew here last night got here about two in the morning woke up at 4 30 to prep for first take and then did first take and here i am bro that's love i really appreciate that of course i know you talk about your pastor but everybody that comes on you don't have my own line of cognac that's right and i need

to get you a bottle and you'll leave here with a bottle ain't nothing wrong with that i mean he know i could get out nothing in excess nothing excess. But I want to toast you, bro, because you paved the way for a lot of guys. You made it not just athlete. And I want to give you your flowers, bro. Appreciate you. I appreciate you, man. Thank you so much, man. Coming from an HBCU, obviously, is a very, very big deal.

That's something that's near and dear to my heart. I've been an ambassador for HBCU Week since around 2019 or so and in that span we've generated over what about 65 million in scholarships for over you know 3,000 students and so I'm really really proud of that and HBCUs always near and dear to my heart and the basketball coach Clarence Bighouse Gaines who helped the late great John McClendon and integrating the sport of basketball they were both HBCU icons and both of them were big time mentors of mine and they knew I didn't have the game that was going to take me to the next level but they knew I had the mindset and the tenacity to do what I could to help HBCUs

and all he ever said to me was when I said what can I do for all that you've done for me he said don't forget HBCUs you make sure that you help any chance you get. And that's what I've been doing. What I tell people, Stephen, is that when I went to an HBCU, when I went to Savannah State, I had no idea the importance or the magnitude of what was going on at the time. It wasn't until much, much later that I realized that I had done something special.

So when you're matriculating at Winston-Salem, did you understand what was going on at the time and how big of a deal it was going to be later? No, I didn't, man. All I was trying to do was get my degree and to make sure that I positioned myself to have a career instead of a job. When I'm giving speeches, I constantly say to kids,

there's a difference between a job and a career right a job is doing what you have to do to maintain or elevate your quality of life correct a career is doing what you want to do it just so happens to do those things yes and so for me if you don't have an education the chances of you being able to pull that off even with the advent of social media and the opportunities that present themselves I think it's a misnomer to think that you don't have to have any kind of education whatsoever. And you're going to succeed from a normal perspective. There are abnormal examples. Of course, there's always somebody that breaks the code. But for the most part, you got to go through that terrain. You got to go through that grind. And for me, it was always understanding that.

So when I was at Winston-Salem it was really about getting that degree and getting practical experiences I did an internship at the Winston-Salem Journal I did an internship at the Atlanta Journal of Constitution then I came back I did another internship at the Greensboro News and Record then back to the Winston-Salem Journal before I even graduated and so for me that was incredibly important establishing that resume and really really showing that I was a worthy individual, because if I didn't have those internships, something to prove that I was really, really committed by acquiring that level of practical experience, then it was going to be my resume against somebody from a PWI. from a predominantly white institution chances are you're gonna get the nod over somebody in an hbcu so i understood the climb i understood the the the obstacles that i had to that i had to fight off and that's what i went about the business of doing did you always want to go to an hbcu or

you just just it just happened bro it just happened i didn't even know what an hbcu was until they came to offer me a scholarship i had had no clue. I heard about the United Negro College Fund, New Raw, doing that every year. But they ain't never mentioned Savannah State. So I'm like, all I knew about was the big ones, the Grammys and the Southern University. You know about Eddie Robinson. You know about Eddie Robinson.

But that was about it because the fact is that when you took it at HBCUs, I mean, there's some up north like Bowie State and the Maryland area and what have you. But for the most part, that what have you but for the most part that's right but for the most part they down south correct they are they are west they ain't in the midwest they damn sure ain't on the east coast so if you're living in those places you simply don't know right i and you know what i caught a lot of criticism because i was one of the top prospects in the state of Georgia when I was coming out. And I said an HBCU wasn't my first choice.

Had I not been Prop 48, I mean, I had Georgia, I had Texas, I had Nebraska, I had all the big schools recruiting me. And more times than not, I'm like, but the best thing that I did, Stephen A., is when my former coach, rest his soul, Bill Davis, came down.

He said, son, if you good, they'll find you. Right. He said, if I was drafting, he said, I would take you number one overall. Wow. He convinced me. And I would, I had an opportunity to transfer and go to a PWI. Right. I couldn't, well, I will tell you this. It's like, and a lot, and I've said this to a lot of our white brothers and sisters. I'm like, look, ain't nothing like being surrounded by your own and the advantage it's the pageantry it's her own cousin oh my god they just don't understand they just don't understand i mean you know the bands the pep rallies i mean lord the band played the whole game it ain't no where they got the ball you got to be quiet the band plays

the entire game whether we got the ball or they got the ball and then you got the step shows and you got the saw rods you got the frats and you got the park and everybody's coming back from 20 years 30 years 10 years 15 years just stop just bring back memories just bring it back and tell you something man i i i listen you've heard me listen people see me on tv you hear me complain about a lot of things. Like you ain't never heard me complain about going to the HBC. No, no, no, no. It's the greatest experience I've ever had in my life. Let me tell you something right now. I had a mentor of mine. He's got God rest his soul. Mr. Robert Devon. He was a telecommunications director at Winston-Salem State. Loved him dearly. He had to convince me to graduate on time. i wanted to do internships to delay and postpone

graduation that's how that's how much i was living the life at western salem you understand what i'm saying i mean it was like and then everybody like well you know what you'd be a disingenuous because you went and you did an internship in atlanta i was like uh have you ever heard of Spelman? Yes. I have. I mean, that's right down the block. That's right down the block.

Okay. Atlanta just started. And look, Atlanta's always been Atlanta. That's right. It just exploded in the last 20. But Atlanta was back. Atlanta back in the 70s and the 80s. Atlanta was like that.

How about that? And then on top of it all, check this out. So you got to take a route. If you're going down, you're going I-85. If you're coming up, you're going I-85 north. Right. You're passing HBCUs in route. Yes.

So it's like, yeah, I'm at Winston-Salem, but I'm stopping at Johnson C. Smith. Yes. You got Johnson C. Smith. You got Fayetteville State. I mean, it's Bennett College in Greensboro. All girls. I mean, it's beautiful. You got Allen. All girls. I mean, it's just beautiful. You got Allen.

You got San Antonio State. Yeah. A&T is like, Lord. I mean, I used to take the long route because, you know, you could cut through and get to Winston-Salem State. But I used to take the long route because you had to pass through all of them things to get to Winston-Salem. I was like, why would I want to rush? Why would I want to do that? I tell a lot of people.

I tell my white counterparts. I think everybody should have to experience one semester at an HBCU yeah to get the field to get the ambiance of what it's actually like and to have some of those teachers because the professor's Stephen a I believe they sincerely cared about Shannon Sharpe I remember going to a class and his name was Haynes Walton and Stephen a he come to class with a piece of chalk this big in his pocket and he start writing on the board okay taking notes and everything and he said on this page such-and-such and in this chapter such-and-such

I'm like what the hell how he know all of that everyday for like three weeks so I got the text I said I'm gonna find out how he know so much what I started reading text by Haynes Walton. Yep. He wrote them. That's him. He wrote them. He knows everything. And from that point on, I felt that every class that I went to,

every professor, doctor, they could teach me something. And I was attentive. Now, it didn't hurt that, you know, they were in class too. That's right. So I was at the front of the class. I was there having a brief a briefcase i had on you know on friday i

had hard bottom shoes on slack had me a nice blazer pretended like i'm gonna be something one day y'all need to come on get on with shea that's right ain't no question and listen they cared um they held you accountable they did they felt like they were an extension of the family that you departed from right and they made you feel like if you disappointed, if you ended up being a disappointment, you disappointed them. Yes. You disappointed yourself. You disappointed your family. You disappointed your community. It was a level of accountability. And not only that, they highlighted the obstacles. Yes. That were waiting for you. So I was like, listen, we've been here. We did it. This was waiting for you. was waiting for you right what you gonna do about it right and there's a sense of pride that kicks in but more importantly when you go to an hbcu i think this is the most important people most

important thing for folks to understand particularly as it pertains to black folks usually in every walk of society we are alone in certain respects. Yes. When you go to an HBCU, you got company. Yes. People who look like you, who share your cultural identity, who share your trials and tribulations, the obstacles, the pitfalls, everything. You literally are looking at people, hanging with people and talking to people every day where your experiences are not foreign to them. They all know it. And so they're going to lift you up unless you don't want to be right when you don't want to be. They know to leave you to the side because you ain't about it. Right. We we go stick with people who's about something. And that's self-accountability elevates everybody.

I think back, Stephen, a one of them, one of our I started off, I was probably 48. So I had to start off in developmental studies. Right. Developmental studies is remedial. Right. So in other words, all you're taking is classes that doesn't go towards graduation. Right. Dr. Joyce McLemore. I never forget. I had a reading class. And after two days, she called me up. She always called me, Mr. Sharp. To this day, when I go back and see her, it's a bad thing. She called me, Mr. Sharp. She said, Mr. Sharp, I don't want to see you in the next next quarter. Yes. They all say that. She said, you're too smart.

She said, you have no business being in this class. Now, Mr. Sharp, I don't want to see you next quarter. She told a story. Everybody, because by that time I ended up graduating, got my degree and playing in the NFL. She said, y'all see that young man on television? He was in this very class. Right. But he worked his tail off to get out.

And I did. A lot of my teammates were embarrassed because you know it wasn't a regular class steven it was a trailer that's right and you know it's right next to peacock hall where i went i would go eat breakfast and walk right up in there just as proud because i wasn't ashamed because i put myself in that situation see you shouldn't be ashamed of something that you put yourself in right i put myself in that but a lot of times people don't see themselves putting themselves in that situation because they're not willing to absorb and accept accountability see the beauty of being involved with athletics is that you're surrounded by people

who make you accountable for yourself you it's like a human mirror you know when you didn't work hard right you know when you didn't put in the work you know when you didn't listen to the coach you know when you didn't do all of these things so that transitions to other forms it could be the classroom it could be anything else i remember even before i got to college seventh grade it's in my book straight shooter my seventh grade teacher mr caravan looked my mother dead in the face and she said your son is not a dummy she said he doesn't listen with things he's not interested in he drifts right so what happens is you think he doesn't know he didn't understand he never heard him he will literally drift and he doesn't hear anybody anywhere he said but when you find out what he's passionate about you'll

have a star in your hands right and that's what you said and that came in handy because years later when i was a beat writer, especially when I was covering the 76ers and stuff like that, I have this uncanny ability. I'm not saying it's a gift, but I have this uncanny ability. I have been in an arena

with 20,000 people and I didn't hear a word. I didn't hear anything. Like I'm on deadline. I got an article to write. I got 20 minutes to write 800 words. And I literally have the ability to block out all the noise and it reminded me of what professor caravan

said to my mother about drifting right I drifted to a different place except this time I saw the positive in it right because a lot of times if you're hearing that noise you can't focus you can't concentrate you can't get the job done right I could because I could lock in and I could tune out the noise. You sound like an athlete. If you've heard athletes say it, say it's like everything slows down. Everything is moving in slow motion. I don't hear not one of those 85,000 or those 30,000 fans are screaming. I hear nothing.

Everything is just hush. And I can actually hear my heartbeat. That's how quiet it is. thousand fans are screaming i hear nothing right everything is just hush yeah and i can just i can actually hear my heartbeat that's how quiet it is even though i'm in the stadium right with 80 thousand and those are the great ones as an athlete those are the great ones because the ones who hear all the noise are the ones who succumb to it and they panic they sweating a little bit extra palms sweaty backsides tight they can't really handle the pressure they fold under the pressure but when you. But when you can be composed and poised under pressure,

particularly on the field of athletics, whether it's a quarter play, the field of play, or whatever the case may be, you got a star in your hands. That wasn't me. That was me

when it came to my job. I could tune out all of that noise. What people have is pressure. It's like we do television every day. I'm in front of the camera, bro. I worry about nothing. I'm not phased. i don't care who's in front of me i don't care what noise people are saying on the outside i don't care about the camera folks i don't care

about the producers in the control room i don't care about the bosses upstairs whatever when the camera is in front of me i believe i own it right and i'm not phased by anything it just doesn't phase me but I've seen people who have been reporters for example and you put them in front of the camera brother they sweating bullets they nervous as hell they stuttering they don't know what to say they're trying to gather their thoughts they're trying to be ultra careful they don't know what to think what to say or whatever the case and I'm like this they have no chance yeah but people think it's easy.

Everybody can't talk on camera. Right. Everybody can't speak in front of an audience. Right. We've seen some of the greatest players not be able to do what you and I do on the regular. And people are just like, well, how do you do it? Right. You just do it.

You just do it. I don't see you. Right. I don't hear you. All I hear is my own voice. Right. You. I'm a little you. None. I don't hear you. All I hear is my own voice. Right, right. You. I'm a little different than that.

I think that you and I would be a little bit different than that because that's your gift and that's cool. Me, as anybody, producer, anybody would tell you, when I'm on the air, that's why they named me the executive producer first. I ain't asked for the job. I didn't need another job. The last thing I need was another job, bro. It ain't like they throwing extra money my way for this. You know what I'm saying? It ain't happening.

But they came to me and I'm like this. They're like, why? They say, you producing the damn show anyway on the set. You looking at the camera. I know this camera is on. I know this camera is off. I'm imagining what the audience is doing because I have a connection with the audience. This is what they want to hear. This is what they don't want to hear.

This is who they want to hear from at this particular moment in time. This is who they want to hear at this particular moment in time. All right, Steve, it's time to jump in. All right, Steve, it's time to lay back because the objective is the show. It's not me. It's not you. It's the show. And the objective is to make sure that the people on camera are maximizing their their potential in terms of their presentation to the audience to grab them and to reel them in right that's how i'm thinking right and or now that it didn't it wasn't at the beginning at the beginning i was a lot like that but as time went on you're just seeing and you're saying well wait a minute why did you're the

quarterback this person i've always that's what i've seen, for me, I got, look, I know what everybody's supposed to do. Right, right. But I focus on my job. Now, if I need to tell somebody they're out or they need to, hey, this blitz, you're hot. Or you got to block this. Well, you showed the world that, what you posted on Twitter. You know what I'm saying? Who laid it out for you?

Who laid it out for you? And then you like, yeah, that's what you're supposed to do. That, to me, is my job. Let me ask you a question. Yeah, that's what you're supposed to do. That to me is my job. Let me ask you a question. When you say these viral and people ask, when do you know what you're going to say?

A lot of times when stuff goes viral, I had no idea because I don't know what he's going to say. You don't know what everybody's going to say. But sometimes it just happens. A moment happens. How much is just reactionary? Because like I said, you have a lot of different, you have Mad Dog, you have Ryan Clark, you have D.O., you have Swagoo. You have so many different people. So it's hard to get a beat or rhythm to what they're going to say. If you don't know them.

Okay. And if you don't know the audience. Okay. And so what happens is I know what the audience wants from Ryan Clark. I know what it wants from Swagoo. I know what it wants from Molly. I know what it wants from Mad Dog. I know what it was from Oloski.

I know what it wants from Shannon Sharp for the purposes of that show. And so I'm looking at Shannon Sharp and I'm like, that's three times the bowl champion. That's one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. That's a Hall of Famer. And damn it, he loud. And he's boisterous. He going to come right at you. And all of this other stuff.

OK. This is what they want. And this is what they're going to get. Right. Now, you don't want to give it to them too much. Right. All in one bowl. Right.

You want to spread it out. You want to sprinkle it out. A little bit here, a little bit there. All right, it's 10, 10 o'clock. Boom. 10, 15, here we come. The momentum is swelling. All of a sudden, it might be a little bit too much.

You might want to dial it back a little bit. Because we coming at 11. Right. We might come at 11, 15. Hell, we coming at 11, 30. See, that's how I'm thinking. Okay. So it's like, okay, yeah, I want you to shine. And want you to I want you to be you because I'm going to be me.

Right. And so here we come. And the audience is watching. How do you know that? Because you paid attention to the audience. You're not sitting up there manipulating them. You're not disrespecting them. You're showing them you appreciate them because you're paying attention to what they're telling you and showing you they want. A lot of times you have talent and it's like listen this is my lane and there's something to be said about that when you know who you are yeah you know what you bring that's not to be disrespected that's to be appreciated okay here's his strength well if i have a different strength how do i get to complement that so he can shine while we shine that is the objective when you're trying to win,

and it's applicable on the football field, on the court of play, or on the television set. But how many people are thinking like that? I'll tell you who. The winners think like that. The losers don't. It's very simple. You know what?

I want to address some comments that you said because you said condolences in advance. He's the modern-day Black Hawk. He's not used to getting beat down. Welcome to the beat down. Let me tell you. Let me elaborate. First of all, obviously I wasn't talking about physically. I got no shot. I got no shot. Let's get that out

the way right now. Let's get that out the way right now. You understand what I'm saying? Let's get that out the way right now. I was not talking about physically. I got no shot whatsoever. But you know, I've seen you. I've seen you debate quite often. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm good at the thing. I'm listening for a chance. You could do your thing, But you know, I've seen you. I've seen you debate quite often. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm good at the thing. I'm a little far in the chair. You can do your thing, but you know, you

ain't never been up against me. It's a little different going up against me. You see, what happens is you got people that are trying to win the debate to be right. Yeah. False. It's about your perspective up against mine. And who can convince the audience

their perspective is better than the next oh that's what it's about you see a lot of times somebody like somebody that it's a mistake to argue with shannon sharp about the facts of football you don't do that not if you didn't play. Right. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, please, you got no shot. But you can go like this. You know something?

It's really nice. I heard what you said. But you see, you said this two weeks ago. That's not consistent with what I just heard. I mean, you saw this game right there. Now, I'm not you, but damn it, I got two eyes. Right. I saw that.

Are you telling me what I saw was a lie? Really? You sure about that? Well, didn't you say this a year ago? You see, these are the kind of things, like, you know, you obviously, you know, you love yourself some LeBron James. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know that's going to happen. He the GOAT.

He the GOAT. He's not. Say it with me. He's not. He's not. He's not. I just got up the phone with MJ last night. That's okay.

Just to remind him. You should have hung up on him. Just to remind him. I was hung up on MJ. Yeah. Say the goat. The blasphemy coming out of your mouth right now. There's the goat.

It's okay. You can believe that. You can believe that. The man's still going to throw a 21. But we'll do. I'm sure. You know what? Right.

The first LeBron topic. Right. Don't need to be nobody. Don't need to be nobody there. Here's what's going to hurt you. Here's what's going to hurt you. Because you see, when you're talking like that, people are like, but, but, but. Nope.

I'm going to sit back and let you talk. And then I'm going to say, you finished? Are you finished? You sure? No. And you're going to be like, nah. And I'm going to say, you got to wait now. Because I waited.

Here I come. And you're going to have to deal with the tsunami that I'm going to bring. I'm going to rain down upon you when it comes, especially to that subject. Especially to that subject. And that's where you're going to hurt yourself. Listen, LeBron, listen, I got this man.

The game was started in 1947. I got LeBron James to thousands of players that have played in the NBA. I got him number two all time. Yeah, yeah. You got people walking around like that's disrespect.

It is. I got him. See, that's emotion. That's emotion right there. Listen, let me tell you something right now. I personally believe a legitimate argument could be made that I'm sitting in front of the greatest tight end in the history of football. Some people bring in Gronk, Tony Gonzalez, Travis Kelce, of course. But you in the conversation, you know, because your brethren, I mean, they give you that love and respect.

Right. I can say that. But my point to you is, is that. If somebody said you weren't number one, you don't feel insulted. No. So why you got to be insulted about LeBron? Because. That's emotion. No, that's not emotion. That's emotion.

But the goal. Huh? See, you told me the storm was coming. See, your storm happened for nine years, then took two years off. And it happened for three years, and took another three years off. And then it kind of just was like drizzling.

My storm been going for 21 years raining. And then it kind of just was like drizzling. My storm's been going for 21 years, Rainey. You could say that, that my retort to that would be six NBA Finals losses. So they'll... No, no, no. Hold on. It's a fact. Six Finals losses.

Six Finals losses. Let me ask you a question. Six. I just want you to tell me one thing. We're going to debate this. Sure. Tell me the team that he faced that was the 2017 or the 2018 Golden State Warriors. What do you mean? I don't understand your question. Michael Jordan, tell me the team that he faced that was the 2017 or the 2018 golden state warriors what do

you mean i don't understand your question michael jordan tell me the team you talk about michael jordan i want you to tell me the team that michael jordan faced that was the equivalent of the 17 and 18 no one can i respond to that sure can i tell you why no one do you know why because none of them had jordan no that's exactly exactly why. Okay, let me explain. See, see, see. That's the ultimate equalizer or usurper. Pick whichever one you want to pick. Do you understand that Jordan is 6-0 in NBA Finals?

Yes. Do you understand that Jordan was MVP all six NBA Finals? Yes. Do you understand that Jordan never even allowed a final series to go seven games? Yes. You understand that? He never went seven games.

I also, I also, I also know he didn't start going to finals until that birdbert went out. Excuse me. Ten-time NBA scoring champion. Nine-time all-defensive player, all-defensive first team. You do know that, right? Yeah. So, in other words, is LeBron on both sides of the ball?

Was he that dominant? Oh, he was the dominant. You know he should have won. You know he should have won. Are you kidding me? Stephen A. Are you kidding me? Stephen A.

Give me this. You know good and well LeBron James should have one defensive player of the year. How does Marc Gasol, who's a second-team all-defensive player, be defensive player of the year? I agree with that. I agree with that. But the flip side to it is that as we watched LeBron James, even with his greatness at one point in time as a defensive player, we never looked at him and said, oh, my God, that's that dude defensively. Yeah, you had you had now LeBron is universally respected and revered.

MJ was feared. You know the difference. You know the difference. Because there are people who have feared you. You know the difference better than me. You know the difference between reverence and fear. Look, look. You know this. You like John Wick. I like James Bond. He's all right.

He's all right. Hold on. Can I have James Bond? I prefer James Bond. You can be John Wick. I prefer James Bond. John Wick shot up the whole place, killed everybody. Okay.

James Bond killed a few people, but he got the ladies. That's right. They do the same thing. That's right. Remember when Halle Berry was walking out the ocean? When he was walking out the ocean and he said, magnificent view.

Remember that? I remember that. The small room. And that was where, you know, that stuff, it's stuff like Pierce Brosnan. But you know,

Daniel Craig, of course, Sean Connery, the man, okay? I mean, I'm trying to say the versatility of James Bond is where it comes in.

The versatility of James. You could say that, but at the end of the day. He could guard one through five. You seen him do it. I'm not denying that. Shut down Tony Parker on one end. In the last five minutes, I got Tim and Dee. I also saw him get checked when Jason Terry was guarding him in the post in his finals against Dallas.

You going to deny that? No. Okay, then. Let me ask you a question. Has there ever been a time when Michael Jordan showed up in an NBA finals and you literally looked at him and said, yo, he didn't show up? He didn't play nobody. Come on.

Let me ask you a question. I'm going to do it like this here. Sure. Tell me the guy that he faced at the award, the equivalent of Kevin Durant in an NBA finals. Michael Jordan. Or Steph Curry. I wouldn't say the equivalent of Kevin Durant, but let's? Michael Jordan. Or Steph Curry.

I wouldn't say the equivalent of Kevin Durant, but let's go down the list. He beat Magic for his first title. Magic was 73! Okay, I find you. I'm going down the list.

I'm going down the list. I didn't hear you say that when Magic was here, but we're talking about the other day. You know Magic. You didn't say that when Magic was here.

You didn't tell him that. The man that's on the nine finals in 10 years. I feel you on that. And by the way, he took Vlade Divac in those guys. Yes! It wasn't Kareem and Worthy in them.

But you saw what he did to Joy in the first game, right? Allow me. Put a triple-double on him. They had to put Scottie Pippen on him. That's cool. Okay, I ain't going to say he backed him. He made him look like Kareem and Tarwell Jones. Okay, go ahead.

That's fair. Michael Joy. I'm sorry. Magic Johnson in the first title. Clyde Drexler in the crew in the second title. Charles Barkley. Kevin Johnson. Don't ignore that. Dan Mar Johnson in the first title, Clyde Drexler in the crew in the second title, Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, don't ignore that, Dan Marley in the third title. That would be a good team.

Okay, okay. Peyton, the glove, with Sean Kemp, before he became Sean Kemp. That's one Hall of Famer. And then also you've got Carl Malone, John Stockton, and you have an NBA game that was considerably tougher at that particular moment in time than today's NBA game is in terms of physicality and what's allowed. Yes.

So you can appreciate this. Yes. You can appreciate that. But you can put your when you can put your forearm on people when you can hand check them when you can do a lot of things you can't do now. Right now you get caught for passing gas. True. You will. But it's a different game now. But here's the thing Stephen. Okay. What you and

the old school guard have equated physicality with talent and skill. The guys in today's game are more skilled. I totally agree with that. I totally agree with that. But you would know this better than me because you are an all-world player. Even though the game of the NFL has evolved significantly, you know good and damn well that if you were playing in this time

you would have adapted. You played in that time, you adapted. The game in the 60s and 70s, you would have adapted to those times. So what I'm trying to say to you is this. Michael Jordan was what he needed to be. If he was playing today he would be what he needed to be in order to be successful today.

That's all I'm trying to say. When you see greatness on that level, you have to concede that that's the case. But see, all that Michael do was to cook. LeBron had to cook. He had to clean. He had to wait tables. He had to take orders. Well, you could say that, but what I'm saying is if the

brother's doing it on both sides of the floor, then obviously he's doing more than one thing. He's doing that too. Why is he doing more than one thing? How many guys you know that are top five scorers and top five assists? How about this? How about when Shaquille O'Neal with Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, 3D, Dennis Scott and those boys

were on Orlando, right? Yeah. How about the fact that they couldn't even get the ball past half court because Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan had him on lock. Yeah. Full court press. We ain't never seen LeBron do that.

We ain't never seen LeBron do that. LeBron do that. Stop it. He never did it. You remember with D.A.? He never did it. You remember with D. Rose with the MVP? Y'all voted D. Rose MVP.

What he do to D. Rose in the playoffs? Excuse me. Excuse me. D. Rose, what kind of team did he have? You couldn't tell me Yoakim Noah and those boys was a disappointment. They did enough to get the number one seed and you didn't say nothing. So what? me. D-Rose, what kind of team did he have? You couldn't tell me Yoakim Noah and those boys was a disappointing guy? They did enough to get the number one seed and you didn't say nothing. So what? You voted him MVP. That's why I called him.

I voted him MVP and still picked Miami to win that series. I knew they weren't going to beat Miami in the best of seven. Players are different. But that don't mean LeBron deserved the MVP. And oh, by the way, I don't even knock LeBron James for not getting the MVP because when you're that great, you're not going to put all your efforts in over 82 games.

You're playing for April, May, and June. So this is entirely plausible. I'm very fair to LeBron James. Your dollar tag? Sometimes. Most times. Most times. Actually, I'd say all.

It's just that I call it like I see it. I'm not emotional like you. No, no, no. You're emotional. You're emotional. I saw you. I've been doing the hard work on you. Yeah, you know what?

I got a call today from one Micah Jordan. He rolled up on me in a black SUV and rolled a window down. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Yeah.

That was scary. I thought he was going to shoot. I thought it was a drive-by. It was a damn drive-by. Scared the living hell out of me. You know what I'm saying? I mean, that's an absolutely true story.

But at the end of the day, all I'm trying to say is that LeBron is phenomenal. He's great. We should throw no shade on him. One of the greatest ever. Top three. Top three.

I didn't see you saying one of them. First of all, he will never be greater than Jordan to me. But more importantly, let's go to Kareem. 19-time All-Star. My bad. Six-time league MVP. Champion on a high school level. That don't get Kareem his credit.

Champion at UCLA. You know that don't get Kareem his credit, though. Champion in the NBA. Six times. Good Lord have mercy. Six MVP's. All-time leading scorer before LeBron surpassed him. All of that stuff happened.

I'm just saying, come on now. The resume is better, but I still don't believe he was the player that LeBron James is. Yeah. All right? But what I hold, and I'll say this to you. I'll tell you something that I very rarely said. Yeah. All right. But what I hold and I'll say this to you, I'll tell you something that I very, really said. If you took LeBron James career from 2012 to now and that was his history from his first title to what he is now and you wanted to make an argument against Jordan.

I'm listening. The problem is we don't get to ignore those first seven or eight years where there were a couple of occasions where one, he was accused of quitting. And number two, and I don't believe that, by the way. I don't believe that you know, a drunken. No, no, no, no, no. I'm talking about God still gave it all. I got you. But I feel you. But it's true. But it's still a drunken. But the point is, but no, no, no. Against Boston. I don't believe that. It was a lot of stuff going on with Ron. That's none of our business. They were totally unfair to him, including his damn teammates. But that's a different story for another day.

I never held that against him. But when you got four games against the Dallas Mavericks in which people looked at you and said, choke. You cannot get past that. I can't argue on that one. I can't argue on that one. That to me sealed the deal about the MJ LeBron comparison. So what if he were to win a title this year?

At 39 years of age. So? That don't erase Jordan. See, there you go. See, that's the argument that people have when I was talking about Tom Brady not playing well. I'm not trying to take away what Jordan's accomplished. I agree. He got those rings.

He got six finals MVPs. He has six championships. He has five regular season MVPs. Correct. If LeBron gets another title, Stephen A., I'm not going to erase did but he already here he already here for me okay all he doing is just but but what I'm saying to you is I already talked about the Dallas thing yeah and I talked about moments which you can appreciate what I'm trying to say to you is that when you are that dude right that doesn't happen to you often that happened to Magic

when they called them tragic because yeah 84 Johnson 84 and all that we get all of that get all of that you understand but for the most part that doesn't happen and this is the kind of thing that you also have to pay attention to as well not only do you not get to say that about jordan but when you look at lebron think about this you want me to tell you what i hold against him just as much as i held against the dallas before what the following year with the all-Star game. You got the ball in your hands. It's an exhibition. Oh, he passed it. It's an exhibition. It doesn't count.

Right. It's all in fun. Kobe claps his hand, God rest his soul. And he's like, yo, let's come on with it. You got D-Wade on the court. You got Melo in the corner. And he threw the pass. And all three of them, along with Kobebe descended on lebron and said yo what's up what you doing because they knew he was psyched out he was messed up and what i'm

saying to you is that kobe wasn't like that mj wasn't like that it's d way wasn't like that in his first nba finals appearance they down oh two to to Dallas D Wade goes berserk averages 37 in the last four games I'm just saying it's stuff like that it's not that you look at LeBron and you diminish him it's just that you can't elevate him above somebody like MJ when I got that evidence to support my argument that's all and that's why I got a number two all-time God strike me down I mean my lord I mean what an why I got a number two all time. God strike me down. I mean, my Lord, I mean, what an insult. I mean, the number two all time in the history of the game. And it's an insult. Only you and Rich Paul and people like that feel that way. Most of us sane individuals know better.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claibon, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook,

Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today, and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends.

And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Can't get enough football? Look no further than the Good Morning Football podcast. Join me, Jamie Erdahl, alongside Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Akbar Bajabiamila for a daily breakdown of the league's biggest stories. From game plan analysis and player interviews, we've got you covered for all things football.

Hey, you want to know the secret ingredient that makes Patrick Mahomes unstoppable? Or maybe which reality show best describes the Jets season? Look no further. We bring you everything, all the games, all the matchup previews, our impeccable predictions. Get your football fix right here on the GMFB podcast. We've got recaps, retweets and reactions to all the wild moments

you might have missed both on and off the field. We bring it like nobody else, straight from the stores. Whether you're a football fanatic or you just enjoy a good laugh, make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast.

You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers, only now from a Dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the Dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level. Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the Dynasty

format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast has something for you and you're gonna have a great time listening i promise join me and the rest of the crew every wednesday for a new episode listen to the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let me ask you this. You and I have conversation and people are like, well, how close are you to Stephen A? I said, I met him in 2014 when I came on the show. I said, we've talked over the years, we exchanged numbers and we've talked over the years. But I said, over the last year and a

half or so, I was going through some things and he was the one guy that was in this business that i felt i could talk to it would stay between us but he would give me sound advice and so now you have your thing with first take you you you are the voice you are the face of first take you're the first face of espn what made you reach out say bro i want you because i got love for you bro and that's just that's just me being a man and and speaking as two brothers you know you know our former boss at first take Jamie Horowitz who is over there for a brought you over that fest one and all of that and he knows my history he knows what I stand for I remember when I first say you can ask him i remember when i

first arrived on first take and i rolled up in there and i saw a bunch of white folks and i said yo where the brothers and sisters at you don't think i'm gonna be sitting here working with a bunch of white folks do you i don't mind white folks i ain't got nothing against y'all god bless you you understand right we all brothers and sisters the eyes of god when all is said and done but you ain't gonna just have me surrounded by a bunch of lily white folks. You better sprinkle some pepper in here. A little pepper up in this mix. You know what I'm saying?

And so, you know, he brought one. And then the next thing you know, I picked two or three others and made sure to diversify that staff. And then one of the things that I did when I came in there, I knew Skip was going to want to debate me or whatever. But I was talking about subject matters that we needed to want to debate me or whatever but I was talking about subject matters that we needed to broach because it was still his show but he respected me enough to get my opinion and I was like look we need all of these other people because I want voices and I'm just I'm built differently what I mean by that is there's no shade on you or anybody else but I don't believe anybody's knocking me off my perch I will knock me off my perch you

know corporate stuff bureaucratic stuff yeah that's stuff you can't you know but I'm talking about in terms of my on-air performance my job performance I don't worry about it you know what I worry about the day that I want to leave and I haven't done anything to create opportunities for us to continue and so for me it's like I look at you i think that you're smart you're obviously incredibly accomplished you ain't gonna never hear me say no disrespect to anybody not to bring up nothing you're gonna never hear me say three super bowl championships or hall of fame status don't mean nothing i don't roll like that that's not who i am i'm the kind of person that i argue with you about football but i want the audience to know yo you the football expert right not me right I'm the reporter that walks in and I'm like

this what I saw tell me I'm wrong this is what I'm seeing tell me I'm wrong this is where I'm covered just like me and you talk about I know you I don't give damn how much basketball you know you don't know no more basketball than me I've been coming I learned from living legends and all this stuff but I still want to hear what you have to say you can listen to me talk about football why the hell can I listen to you talk about basketball? And so all of that. And then your heart being a conscientious brother, caring about the issues that you caring about, speaking about the issues that you speak about.

Nah, brother. Iron sharpens iron. And yeah, I got Mad Dog Russo. That's white. I got Dan Orlovsky. That's a white dude. You see what I'm saying? You know, Jeff Saturday at one time he was on the show. That's a white man. But the bottom line is I want it all. I want to make sure there's brothers, there's sisters, black and white, ethnic, you know, Hispanics, Asian.

I don't give a damn who it is. I want to make sure we're representing America. And we make sure that everybody that looks at our show says i can identify with what they're saying but in the end when it comes to me personally you know whether it's ryan clark it's marcus spears all right it's damian woody it's lewis riddick the list goes on and on my brother michael irvin that's now over at ss1 keishon johnson these are my boys i go back decades with these these are my brothers right you are my brothers. They will tell you, you ask anybody that knows me, I'm about getting you paid. I'm about helping you become

successful. I'm about letting you shine. I'm not threatened by anybody's appearance. It's my obligation to do it. You've heard the comments. Man, Stephen A, man. He's strong will. He brags. Blah, blah, Yes. Man, Stephen A., man, he's strong will, he brags, blah, blah, blah. Right.

Shannon, strong will, I'm blah, blah, blah. Yeah. How is that going to work? They don't know. You know what I tell people? Yeah. I'm going to say two people that strong will can absolutely get along. That's right.

As long as there's respect. Absolutely. get along as long as there's respect absolutely the moment one disrespects the other the other loses respect for the one that disrespected him right so now it's just a matter of time exactly and that's not going to happen no because i don't roll like that i don't i don't roll like no it's like yo i'm gonna argue with you about your points but you know what we gonna agree we gonna disagree but at the end of the day we brothers and we gonna sit up there and try to do what we can to make our product shine. That's our responsibility, because if we do if we do otherwise, all we're doing is inhibiting the other success. Right. We're getting in the way of what we're trying to do. Right. That makes no sense whatsoever.

And not only that, it's setting a bad example for our community. I really need to get deep about it. Because what happens is, is that always so they can't chill chill they can't sit up there and do a show together they can't get along you see that crabs in the barrel mentality blah blah blah nah man we showing something different right you know first take i've been blessed and fortunate enough throwing shade on nobody we've been number one for 12 years we're gonna be number one for 13 it's just that simple and 14 and. And damn it, if I do it for 15, it's going to be 15. That's the way it's going to be. That's how my mentality is. And I don't root for anybody to fail. I just root to be the best. Right. And there's a difference. And as far as I'm concerned, anybody that's with me, we the best. This is what we're going to do. So now it's we. It ain't Steven. It's we. And when you come to First Take, because you ain't start yet, you're going to see it's a family.

You're going to see we get along. It ain't fake. We roll with one another. We vibe with one another. We watch one another's back. It has always been that way under my stewardship of the show. And I can say my stewardship of the show because the show was handed to me. They ain't come to me and I just took the title. No. They came to me and said, took the title and no right they came to me and said it's yours you're responsible for it if i didn't want shannon sharp at first take shannon sharp wouldn't be a first date absolutely that's just how it rolls no question but i had to come out that day because we'll all let you bro when you telling me this behind see what you're saying now is that you told me months in advance because you were telling me things that were going on at Fox.

Hell, I didn't know. And I'm like, hold on. I drive to this building every day. How the hell you know what I don't know? And you're telling me, bro, it's going down like this. It's happening like this. And I'm just scratching my head. I'm like, I'm at this building every day and everybody cheesing and pleasing in my face.

Was I right? You was absolutely spot on. I was right. And by the way, it wasn't because of Fox. It's because I know the business. Right. I've been here for 30 years. I can see it a mile away.

You know, I can see the handwriting on the wall. I knew when it was over for you, bro. I'm going to be real with you. I knew when it was over. And I was like, I'm here. you see what i'm saying because because i knew what was gonna happen what happens is when you got noise and we gonna call it like i'm gonna call it like i see it you don't win. Everybody's circling, the sharks are circling now. It's not one person and it's not, you know, collusion going on. Instinctually, people tend to believe this, believe this, believe that.

And the sharks are circling. And that's why I came out. You know, the number one reason I came out even before first take was even on my mind. The number one reason I came out, Shannon Sharp, and I said I want Shannon Sharp on first take because I wanted the world to know that you were wanted. first date because I wanted the world to know that you were wanted that was the most important thing to me I wanted the world I didn't want you to be in a situation where the sports world looked at you and said what do you do he must have done something persona blah blah blah blah so I said I said if he ends up he ends up here the honchos know I want him but more importantly than that this is a brother that I think has done a lot of good work on television that has helped

our community. And as a result, it's incumbent upon me because of the perch that I sit on to let them know he's wanted. Don't cut him off. Because that's what they did to me in 2009. They cut me off and left me for dead, bro.

And I'm not talking about ESPN. I'm talking about the industry. They cut me off and left me for dead, bro. And I'm not talking about ESPN. I'm talking about the industry. They cut me off and left me for dead. They thought I was done. They were writing my epitaph. And I knew it. And I said,

I was blessed and fortunate enough to have enough connections and to do what I do to overcome it. I don't know if this brother does. So let me let the world know he has me. And we'll go from there.

That happened. That absolutely happened like that. Because you and I was talking. And you were like, bro, I got this. But as soon as I get out of this meeting, I'll hit you back. And we were talking 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour. And you took every last one of my calls. And I'm thinking to myself, and I remember getting on the phone and calling my sister.

And I was like, Libby, it's probably going probably going to happen I said because it's not coming from inside it's coming from somebody that I know knows the business and he wouldn't bulljive me but he told me that there's a 95 chance that it's going to happen and he wants me on his show. Right. And I'm like, I think I'm good at what I do. Right. And for him, it did my heart good. Right. Because I know what you represent

in this industry to say, I want him on my show. Right. Whatever these, I don't believe nothing. Look, you go back

from when I was with the Broncos for 10 years, went to Baltimore for two, back to the Broncos for two, CBS for a decade, I was with the Broncos for 12, 10 years, went to Baltimore for two, back to the Broncos for two, CBS for a decade, I was with Fox for six years. Not one person ever said anything bad about Shannon. He's difficult to work with, he this, this, that.

My greatest compliment from players is guys that were on my team say, Shannon Shaw is the greatest teammate I ever had. He's my favorite teammate, the way he approached it, the way he was. And so for you to come to me and to say what you said when you didn't have to do any of it And nobody would have held that against you because like you said that's what would have happened and I heard it man He must have did something. Yeah, no showed up every day on time and did a hell of a job I remember when Jamie Horowitz who we're talking about came to recruit me in 2016 in april at the w hotel he said you're gonna be a star yeah i said i said jamie i know what he said

trust me yeah he says i have no talent it goes deeper than that because you see jamie whether he wants to tell you this or not i I knew back then Skip was auditioning you. Because whenever I took off, you would be there. Yes. And what Jamie wouldn't tell anybody is that there were extra days that I would take off just so Skip could bring you on. Because again, if you are not creating opportunities for other people, what good are you? Right. My pastor says and I'm not the most religious person in the world i mean as promiscuous as i've been in my lifetime at least i mean i mean i am in no position you know i'm a lot better now over the last over the last decade or so but lord i have my issues no question about it and and and you know my pastor would say all the time, there's no success without a successor.

And so when I look at, you know, for me, all the brothers that are on the show, one of my proudest moments was when Michael Irvin came last year. And the reason why it was proud, because I love the playmaker. He and I are very, very tight with brothers. And I know what his name brings and the stature that it holds and so you're thinking that he comes and others are going to feel alienated but if you watched him when he was on the show with us it was a brotherhood oh yeah you see what I'm saying he's a great man it was a brotherhood so you know him because you know how great he is. Exactly. He loved everybody. But it's like all of these, I mean, Orlovsky and RC and everybody,

Swaggle, they wanted to be on the air with him. Right. And so my point is, is that that's how it's supposed to be. It's like, wait a minute. The NFL constantly talks about what a brotherhood exists.

Yeah. Well, guess what? First take is a platform for brotherhood right so when shannon wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast nfl daily with greg rosenthal five days a week you'll get all the latest news previews recaps and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee no dumb hot takes here just smart hot takes we'll talk every single game, every

single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Roderick from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade

him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Can't get enough football?

Look no further than the Good Morning Football podcast. Join me, Jamie Erdahl, alongside Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Akbar Bajabiamila for a daily breakdown of the league's biggest stories. From game plan analysis and player interviews, we've got you covered for all things football. Hey, you want to know the secret ingredient that makes Patrick Mahomes unstoppable? Or maybe which reality show best describes the Jets season? Look no further. We bring you everything. All the games, all the matchup previews,

our impeccable predictions. Get your football fix right here on the GMFB Podcast. We've got recaps, retweets, and reactions to all the wild moments you might have missed both on and off the field. We bring it like nobody else, straight from the stores. Whether you're a football fanatic or you just enjoy a good laugh, make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast

Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty podcast. You heard that right. The fantasy footballers have officially entered the dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers, only now from a dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the dynasty fantasy football space for a while.

Well, we're here to take your game to the next level. Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the Dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast has something for you, and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Comes on, yeah, you're going to be on the air with me. But guess what? Them brothers are going to slide up in there. Yes. Y'all need to be with each other. You need to be next to each other. You need to be, you know know verbally knocking somebody like me upside the

head when i'm coming at y'all like yeah i'm not i'm not a little journalist and i saw this you know you're like look at y'all like look at this guy right here you know i'm saying i mean and and we're laughing and having a blast it's entertainment bro but it's information right okay it's perspective yes it's serious stuff that needs to be addressed it's the whole gamut and think about it we got the national airwaves for the worldwide leader available to us to disseminate and display our message our belief our culture our perspectives and put them all on display for everybody to see to combat or to embrace right but the point is at the end of the day you ain't gonna feel alone right you gonna be there and we gonna be together

why cuz I'm gonna have your back that's why and they gonna have your back and that's the way it's gonna be you know people ask where it's gonna be what people ask me Steven a there's like bro how do you say what you say mm-hmm and then because shelly you go to the game you might be bumping into some of these guys. So how do you handle that situation? I say if I see them out, I'll nod. They acknowledge me, I acknowledge them back. If they don't, I keep it moving.

Keep it moving. I don't make it personal because I don't know these guys well enough to make it personal. Right. I'm talking about a given situation. You didn't play good in the last night game. That's it. It doesn't diminish anything that you accomplished before last night. Right. I'm talking about a given situation. You didn't play good in last night That's it. It doesn't diminish anything that you've accomplished before last night, right? It doesn't diminish anything that you might accomplish moving forward. I'm talking about a specific set of events that happened last night Right. How do you handle that Steven? Because I know see most times they look at me they do a double take they like nah

I'm gonna let that go. That's right. They don't want that smoke. They don't want that smoke. They don't want to approach you physically. They're going to be like, okay, we cool. I'm just going to pretend like I don't see you. But with you, I'm thinking it like, man, why you say that? Yeah. Well, first of all, I respect any of them who comes up to me man to man and confronts me. Yes. Because if you want to have a conversation, here's where I'm big on.

If I said something publicly and i'm wrong i'm going to correct it publicly thank you i'm not going to do something publicly and then apologize privately right now if i'm wrong i'm going to do it i'm going to do it publicly i'm a man up because that's the kind of man that i am that's how my mama raised me to be the other thing that i'm going to do but if i'm right i'm not budging you ain't going to scare me you ain't going to intimidate me you ain't going to phase me let's get it on like i tell people all the time figuratively or otherwise it's not about getting your ass kicked it's about what you're willing to take an ass kicking for you got to be principled right and you got to be somebody that's willing to stand on something yes and i'm the kind

of person that's willing to stand on something i'm not trying to get personal i'm talking about your game right listen i've seen players do some stuff behind the scenes man i'm walking out of a hotel room whatever i see whatever and i'm like this it ain't illegal nothing like that but i'm just going like this i don't know what you're talking about i keep it moving none of my business but when you shoot two for 20 oh that's my business when you lose engage that's my business. When you lose in game, that's my business. When you stinking up the joint, that's my business. When you not showing up at practice,

that's my business. When you sitting there bitching and whining and moaning about your money, but you ain't earning it, that's my business because that's your career that you've decided

to put on public display. That's the difference. With your personal business, man, I always got you covered on that. As long as, you know, don't ask me to assist in breaking any laws

or anything like that because I ain't going to jail for your ass. That ain't going to happen. But outside of that, I mean, it ain't none of my business. I keep it moving.

Football. Yeah. You love your team. I'm thinking you like all things New York. Steelers. You the Steelers guy. I'm a diehard Steelers fan

because the first game I ever saw was the Immaculate Reception Wow When I was six years old My dad The Immaculate Reception Franco Harris

Against the Raiders And I fell in love With the black and gold Ever since I still haven't given Neil O'Donnell For that interception He threw the lag

Around the Super Bowl I still am recovering From that I still haven't given Ike Taylor For giving up A damn touchdown pass To Demarius Thomas

That Tebow threw Don't get me started That That probably was the worst moment. That might have been the worst moment of your own career. That might have been the worst one, Steve. Listen, man, I had, oh my God. I was with a girl I was dating at the time. And, you know, her fine self and everything. And I had my mind on other things.

Yeah. And Tebow connected that pass I collapsed face first on her living room rug and laid there for two hours didn't do nothing that night totally ruined my night yeah totally ruined anyone to do that I didn't want anything it was I was so depressed. Of all people, and I love him dearly. He's my friend. But that non-throwing Tim Tebow throw, an 80-yard touchdown pass, I could not believe, to save my life, that that happened.

And I couldn't recover that night, bro. I was depressed. But those two moments are my worst as a Steelers fan. So, obviously, if you're a Steelers fan, you have to hate the Cowboys. Of course. Because when the 70s, they always met in the Super Bowl. Yeah. And the Steelers always beat them down.

Damn right. Damn right. Roger Starbuck and Drew Hill. Tony Dorsett. Tony Dorsett, get your ass out of here. He come in. Steelers took him out. Yes.

Bradshaw, Swan, Starworth, even Franco Harris. I really didn't like that much as a running back. I like Rocky Blythe more than I like Franco Harris. He was the fullback. But the Steelers and the Steel Curtain with me and Joe Green, L.C. Greenwood, Jack Lambert, Jack Hamm, Mel Blunt. I'm like, Lord, this is what it's all about.

Yes. I couldn't root for no New York team. They didn't win anything. They were terrible. They were terrible. They were terrible. They were terrible. They were terrible. Terrible. So, now, basketball, that's your thing. What's Stephen A.'s favorite sport?

It's basketball, but I've grown to really, really love football because football has been established as an event. So, that's Sundays. You know what I'm saying? When you come to New York one time, I'm going to bring you by the crib. I'm going to show you the crib. You know what I'm saying? I got the man cave.

It's set up. It's set up now. So we're going to watch the game together? Then right. Then right. We can do that. We can do that.

Ryan Clark, Marcus Spitz, all they talk about coming one time. One time I just invite y'all over. I'm going to make sure I got some catered food.

Yeah, you're catered because I know you can't cook. Hell no. Hell no. I cook some lasagna, cook some steak. Man, I don't know about eating a lasagna. Hell yes, we do. Who cook some lasagna, cook some steak. Man, nobody eat no lasagna.

Hell yes, we do. Who didn't think I had some Garfield? You might not eat the lasagna, you know what I'm saying? Knowing you, you're watching your carbs and stuff like that. But some of us going to eat it. But I will tell you this. I ain't cooking for a bunch of men. That ain't happening.

But I'll tell you this right here. I'll tell you this right here, right now. You know, football has established itself as an event yeah but really the two things i love most is basketball and nothing beats a big time boxing event oh yeah like when i was at errol spence i was out there i saw you right it broke my i picked carver to win i ain't know he won like that yeah it broke my... I picked Crawford to win. I didn't know he would win like that. Yeah, he beat him down. It broke my heart to see Errol Spence get whipped like that. Yeah, he got me bad. He really, really did. I didn't see that coming.

I might be at Canelo versus... Charlo. Charlo. But see, my problem is that Charlo's moving up two weight classes. I'm scared for him. Now, he got mad skills, and he got heart hard and he walks around looking like the bigger guy. But he ain't been in a ring with somebody that's punching him from 168 pounds. Right. In a real fight. Right. And so that's my concern. His brother got some issues that he got to resolve.

That's what they say. But he's the natural super middleweight. Right. So he was the one who, in my opinion, should have been fighting. Right. super middleweight right so he was the one who in my opinion should have been fighting right charlo i'm sorry canelo rather than this guy but those big time boxing events in vegas i mean nothing beats it i mean this dispense fight was really big but it's been a while since you had those i remember going to the mike tyson and the mayweather right well it was an event mayweather pacquiao mayweather canelo Mayweather De La Hoya yes that was a big event too but I will tell you nothing was really bigger than Mayweather Pacquiao we had waited so long yeah and probably every morning it was five years too late but we didn't

know until after the fight that it was five years too late you know so leading up to the event oh my god it didn't get any bigger but that. But you know the thing is, everybody that Mayweather fought, he made them look like it was five years too late. Right. And that's the greatness of him. Yes. Everybody that he fought, they're like, what? He beat Sugar Shane Mosley.

He beat Sugar Shane Mosley. Shane caught him. Shane caught him in the second round. Yeah. Almost hurt him. Almost dropped him. But you look at the champions that this man beat

and made them look mundane in beating them. Right. You're talking about Mayweather, right? Mayweather. I would say the same about Jordan, but that's a different story. Oh, there you go. No. I mean, I'm glad that you heard that. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm saying. You know, because Jordan will make you look

like you're less than what you are. Like before Scotty? LeBron would beat you. I know he ain't. But MJ will make you look like less than what you are. I know Scotty. See the difference? I know Scotty's on the don't call list and don't invite.

Cause what's transpired and everything, you know. But that ain't Scotty's fault. Scotty was wrong. Scotty was wrong. Oh yeah, Scotty. But no, no, no. No, no, no. Let me tell you how it started. Okay. You that ain't Scotty's fault. Scotty was wrong. Scotty was wrong. Oh, yeah, Scotty was wrong. But no, no, no. No, no, no.

Let me tell you how it started. Okay. You know it started in The Last Dance. Okay. Because The Last Dance was supposed to be about Jordan's last dance. Why are you putting Scotty Pippen in there for an event that you weren't even on the team on? Let the journalist in me correct you. Go ahead. The Last Dance was about the last season for the Chicago Bulls. Okay.

The last season. Yes. So what happened is, is that they all on their way out, so you're telling different stories about them and their careers with the Bulls while they're fading into the twilight. Yeah. So that kind of stuff does make it relevant. But you know you're

going to make Scotty look bad. Well, Scotty deserved to look bad. But you don't have to tell it. There are a lot of times, Stephen A. Well, wait a minute now. It ain't like he said, yo, man, this is the woman he was messing with or something. No.

He said, yo, you passed up this contract. You wanted more money. I mean, damn, that's public information. Brian Stork, don't sign this deal. Because if you sign this deal, you can't come back to me because I'm not going to renegotiate your deal. I get it. I mean, damn. You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you's a part of the story but jordan wasn't there let me ask you you tell the information that we wasn't around let me let me or excuse me excuse me jordan was still around he was coming to visit the team scotty pippen wearing the sneakers kicking his feet up look at the bottom of the soles of the shoes jordan come

on back come on back all that other stuff hell yeah jordan wasn't there then you didn't say nothing about that by the way where did you play did you play in denver yes did you play in baltimore yes so we shouldn't nothing about that. By the way, where did you play? Did you play in Denver? Yes. Did you play in Baltimore? Yes. So we shouldn't talk about that. Yeah. We shouldn't talk about it. So whatever happened in Baltimore, we need to keep that quiet. No.

Whatever happened in Denver, we need to keep that quiet. But here's the thing. It's a part of your story. But here's the thing. The way I look at it, I'm not going to tell an event that I wasn't a part of. So anything that happened in Baltimore from 2000 and 2001, if I tell it in my story, I can tell it in my story because I was there when Ray went through

what he went through in Atlanta. I was there. I was picking him up from the courthouse. He was living with me in my basement. So if I want to tell my story, I should be able to include that. But that's a far different angle the man was accused of a crime it was off the field yes very personal and even though you were

involved that's his personal business there's nothing about scotty pippen turning down a contract or scotty pippen refusing to enter a playoff game? That's personal. No, but he said that that's life But he said when Scotty was talking about having the back surgery and he wanted a contract and Jordan said he's being selfish Even though I might agree with I ain't saying nobody's gonna be selfish cuz I want everybody to get as much money as they can Right, so I'm not gonna say that but I'm just saying I'm not going to say that, but I'm just saying, I'm not saying Jordan. I just think that Scottie was surprised that Jordan took the stance that he took and said what he said. That's fair. But I will tell you this. Jordan wasn't only the star of the show.

He was also an executive. Yeah. We all know that. That's number one. It's an important component to bring up. Number two, and more importantly, you got to remember that was in the aftermath of him turning down the contract and then being bitter about it you're right i'm sorry taking the money rather about it right and so you took the money that jordan and ron stoff essentially advised you not

to take right you ended up being bitter about it and then was willing to let the team suffer because you got to remember where it's personal for jordan if you're a tight end which you are and your quarterback you say yo bro don't take this money because you're gonna be bitter about the contract he doesn't listen to you right he takes the money anyway then he's bitter about it later on and refuse to step on the field with you, leaves you out there hanging by yourself, you're going to have something to say. Whoa! You mean to tell me Jordan went on to the championship by himself?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm talking about at the time he complained. Oh, I know. You know what I'm saying? At the time he complained. Yes. At the time he was complaining about Scotty being selfish.

Right. He was on the court without him. But that's what... And he was like, come on, you're leaving me out here because of the decision I told you not to make, but you didn't listen and you made it anyway but i think you will agree that hurt scotty more than anything to hear jordan say that okay fair enough are we sure that that's all that's hurting no there's some other things that's going on behind

this there you go i just said i didn't say what? There's never just. There's always a reason. I didn't say what? And I ain't going to say what? I just asked you a relatively rhetorical question that I know you know the answer to. I think it's safe to say that we all know. Yes. There's other things Scottie's a little upset about.

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something you say my sources say this right and it seemed like players go out of their way to try to refute what you said on there well first of all when your voice is potent and it's gonna go viral right and it's gonna resonate and they think it's going to resonate and they think it's going to compromise their brand, that's what they're going to do. I understand that. I remember I tell you a story one time. I had a coach go up in front of reporters. Stephen A's wrong.

He don't know what the hell he's talking about. I can't believe they even let him report on the team. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then walked by me and winked because he did it because he didn't want people to know he was the one who gave me the story. I've been a journalist for 30 years. I got sources all over the sports world, right? Every single segment of every single show. I get text messages. It's a player. It's a coach. It's an executive. It's a player personnel director. In my case, sometimes it's owners because I know quite a few. Right. OK. And so I have sources all over the place. Does that mean I'm always right?

Absolutely not. What happens, though, is I never said I was. I said this is what I was told. And when you make that judgment call, what are you making a judgment call about? I ain't making a call about your personal life. I ain't making a call about something ultra invasive or whatever. You know, the other day when I made the news about Lonzo. Right. I'm like this. They say, yo, Stephen A., they said sometimes it's like it's hard for him to stand to stand up from position in the chair. All right. I'd heard the same thing on several occasions. Well, two years ago, you missed 42 games due to injury. The next season, you missed the entire season.

This season is coming up. The team announced. Think about this. The team announced in June that he would be available before the new year. Think about that. Right. So I'm going like this. You're going to literally sit poolside and hop up and down in a chair from a seating position when you done missed 48% of your games in just your fourth or fifth year in your career. Brother, you clearly are not healthy. Okay, you want to get literal with it?

Maybe I shouldn't have said, or whatever. That's what they said. But I ain't playing basketball. Exactly. So I'm like, really, that's what you want to refute? And I like Lonzo. I have nothing against him. I have nothing against his daddy, whatever the case may be.

But I would say to you, go back to the days when I've covered, I was a beat writer for the Philadelphia 76ers, and I'm covering Allen Iverson and beyond. I've been a journalist for 30 years. I was a beat writer for 10. I was a general sports columnist for another seven or eight. I've been around. And so there's been plenty of times when people have refuted what I've said. And then years later, come to find out I was telling the truth all along. You go ahead and you deny that. I remember one time I had a player I'm in st. Thomas's where my family's from if you go to st. Thomas's a spot called Red Hook and Red Hook is

where you go you take the boat from st. Thomas to st. John's it's only a 15 minute boat ride okay and I'm literally docking away from Red Hook going into the ocean I get a call call of one out and they're saying I'm lying. I'm like, what the hell do you care? You already told them you leaving. It's hurting my brand. And you realize how a lot of cats are thinking. They're thinking about their social media following. They're thinking about the connections that they have. They're thinking about how that's going to be parlayed in the monetary value for themselves down the line and how I could be compromised and so when you see these denials let's say you say all right it

makes sense I got it I'll leave it alone but my attitude is I'm not giving you a death sentence and I'm not talking about your personal business right I'm talking about relatively obvious stuff calm the hell down and stop making it bigger than what it is right and you'll be fine right the conversation that I saw, I saw a little bit of it. Yeah. About, well, Steph Curry, I think on Gilbert Arenas,

Agent Zero's podcast, said he's the greatest point guard. Yeah. You agreed or disagreed? I agreed, but I was mistaken. And the reason why I say I was mistaken is because what I wanted to elaborate on is when you're talking about a typical quintessential point guard, you're talking about a facilitator. Right. Magic Johnson's greatest ever. Yeah, there's no question. Right.

What I was talking about was impact from the position. Right. And to me, Steph Curry's marksmanship combined with his ability to move without the ball puts a defense's head on a swivel and as a result of that because of the panic he creates because of his extraordinary marksmanship you have to pay rapt attention to him you can't afford to barely pay attention to anybody else right and that to me is a similar impact to magic johnson's ability to get to the basket throw no look passes and especially magic johnson in the open court on the fast break but if you put magic johnson in the half court setting he backs you down right he throws the ball to kareem abdul-jabbar right open court is worthy as byron scott as cooper you know i'm saying the stuff like that pick your

poison i was talking about impact i wasn't talking about a quintessential facilitator that's a point guard. Because Steph Curry is clearly not that. Because that's what I'm saying. I don't really look. I look at Steph as a two. Right. I understand that. Because all these got new age guys.

Dame Lillard, Steph Curry, all these guys are two guards masquerading. They're not the point guard. I'm looking at the point guard like Magic, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson. When I think point guard, that's what I think. I got you. Do we agree? We agree. We agree.

We agree. I mean, listen, Magic Johnson is so phenomenal, and Michael Jordan's been arguing with me about this forever because Magic Johnson's the greatest in his eyes as well, so you know what I'm saying. And ain't no changing that dude's mind. Ain't no changing Michael Jordan's mind. You ain't got no snowball chance in hell of pulling that off.

But he's right. And Eddie Johnson does NBA radio. He's absolutely right. He was talking about a Mad Dog Russo historian. He was talking about

he was absolutely right. We know that as a pure passer, Magic Johnson is the greatest facilitator the game has ever seen. Right. But I'm saying as an impact,

you could talk about Steph Curry being the two guard, but I would tell you he has the ball in his hands enough. The offense runs through him and the impact his marksmanship creates creates just as much havoc as Magic Johnson created. Yeah. And that's all I was trying to say, which is why, even though if you're talking about a prototypical point guard, you would pick others before him. If you're talking about impact, it's him and Magic Johnson. Yeah.

Oh, we don't know. There's no denying that. Exactly. When you look at LeBron, let's take LeBron, and you were covering the NBA when LeBron got in. Yep. I said LeBron is overachieved because no matter what you thought he might be, ain't no way in hell you thought he would be this good, Stephen A.

No, I didn't. That's why I got him number two all time. LeBron James is one of the greatest to ever do it. And listen, we're going to miss him when he's gone. I can sit up there and I can have my basketball decisions as Michael Jordan one, him two. But I got to tell you, man, I got so much love and respect for LeBron. And a lot of people, they misconstrue, you know, what I mean by that. When I say I got love for a brother that I barely know because it's not like I talk to him every day or whatever, even though we accord you to one another in the whole nine.

I'm saying I appreciate who you are and what you've meant. Yes. I'm saying I appreciate who you are and what you've meant. Yes. To our community, to basketball, to young men, particularly young black men everywhere. Yeah. This dude is phenomenal, man. And to be a guy that was on a cover of Sports Illustrated and the only blemish in his entire career is that I'm taking my talents to South Beach. That is literally the only

stain on his career. And he raised money for the boys in glory. I mean, it's ridiculous. A businessman, extraordinaire, actor. He did a great job. I'm joking. When I put the ticker on him, great actor, great... Because we're so sensitive about LeBron James. Actually had a ticker created for first take. Great actor,

great businessman. You had a sandwich he faked up. It's going to be there for you. It's going to be there when you bring him out. I said, can we get it out the way? Because I want to make sure he knows I recognize all the greatness about him. Listen, the movie Trainwreck, did you see what he did in Trainwreck? He was great. He was great. He did a great job. You know, when Amy Schumer, I believe, I mean, he was fantastic. You know, I got it. But the point is, is that the dude is phenomenal on a multitude of levels.

And what he has done for us as black people in this nation in terms of his business acumen, his commitment to excellence. You know, this brother takes care of his body. He's always. Yes. I mean, I look at he's the reason that I got mad at Anthony Davis last year because I'm looking at Anthony Davis. You know, this brother vouch for you. Right. You know, this brother, he put his name on a line for you. Right. I know you I know you got him to ring in the bubble, but you understand it don't stop there. Right. How is he in better shape than you? How is he more focused and dedicated than you? Could you take your ass over his house and mimic his workout? Use his trainer. Use his nutritionist. Do something. You know what I'm

saying? I'm like, it's like, come on now. Look, man, I'm the star of first date. Let me tell you something, Shan Shah. I'm going to do some more pushups, bro. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to change my diet even more. I ain't going to let you down, bro. I'm not going to be there. I got Shannon and RC sitting across from me with him with his fitness

facility in Louisiana and all of this other stuff. And I'm going to roll around with a belly and looking all... Oh, no, no, no. It ain't going down like that. It ain't going down like that. I'm going to be in shape, bro. I've been getting in shape. I already lost some pounds.

I reduced my body fat in half. I did all that. But I'll never be the black Hulk that you are. I ain't trying to do that. But you ain't going to look at me and go like this. Damn. He need to get in the gym. He ain't in shape.

I ain't going to do that. I ain't going to steven i ain't gonna do that i ain't gonna do how i'm gonna bring it down you got molly sitting in the middle and stuff like that you sitting across from me i'm like and i'm looking shabby no it ain't going down like that and i'm looking at anthony davis like ain't there's nothing inside of you that said yeah that you know i need to be in shape right're going to drop 41 game and 11 the next. Come on, bro. Come on, bro. You know, it's like you looking at LeBron. And I literally I almost went on the air and was like, you know, LeBron, I'm sorry. I felt that bad because I'm like in his 20th year in the league, he's in better shape and he the best player. And he actually don't want to be. He actually wishes you's in better shape and he the best player and he actually don't want to be

he actually wishes you were in better shape he actually wishes you were the better player which you are when you bring your a game right but it's sporadic because of a lack of dedication in my opinion i don't know that right but i'm like wouldn't you think that yeah if you were lebron you're like wait a minute what's i'm missing you ain't doing something right but i'm like wouldn't you think that yeah if you were lebron you're like wait a minute with some missing you ain't doing something right bro i'm almost 10 years more in the league with more wear and tear come on man come on man and you in la and you know this because you've been out here you live out here now that's like a different flavor you know you got to be disciplined to be out yeah you can't you. You can't easily locate the distractions.

I mean they are easy to find. The distractions. Well that's the thing with discipline. It requires you to do your best when you think no one is watching. There you go. There you go. You know what I'm saying? Listen when I'm in LA bro.

I don't come outside until I finish my workout. Other than first take I don't come outside until I finish my workout. Because I know once I get outside. It's, I don't come outside until I finish my workout. Because I know once I get outside, it's going to be a while before I get back. I'm just not going to want to. You're going to be without. I'm just not going to want to. I'm just not, you know what I'm saying? You know, my girl, my girl.

Now, we're going to be working together. That's right. We're going to be in the gym together. I'm not going in the gym with you, Shannon. I'm not doing that. I'm not. Listen, you want a meme that people will be laughing at me for the next two decades? Have me in the gym with Shannon Sharp.

Come on, man. You know what I'm saying? That's like the rock standing next to Snoop Dogg. We ain't doing that. We in the Snoop as my dog. You know I love you, baby. You know I love you. I mean, come on, man.

I ain't doing that. I'm not getting in the gym with you. Just one workout. Huh? Just one workout. I'm going to work out every. Listen, I work out. You know what? I might do that. I mean, I might. I'm a wait a few months. I'm a wait a few months. I'm not going to do that just yet. OK, Dane. Yeah, man. And James Harden situation. Yes, sir. Dame is, you know, he look, he saw James Harden get fined one hundred thousand for calling Daryl Morey a liar. He's like, I ain't trying to, you know, lose any of my money.

So what's your take on those situations? Well, when I think about Dame, it's more sensitive for me because Dame could have demanded out on several occasions and he never did. And it's Portland. It ain't like he didn't demand out of L.A. or Miami. Right. He didn't demand out of Portland. Right. Okay?

And he was never going to get anybody to come to Portland. And he was never going to get anybody to come to Portland. So now that he's been there a decade and he's like, it's time. Look out for the brother now now now should he have handled it a tad bit differently in terms of all right i shouldn't have said just miami try to work behind the scenes to get this done get to maybe he shouldn't have done that right but the bottom line is he's giving portland everything he's had right and you know you're moving in a different direction you drive your number the third overall pick is your brother,

School Henderson, playing your position. Come on, y'all. Get it done. You know? And so that's how I feel. I support Dame on that. James Hart is a different animal. And I like James.

But James got to be more accountable. You got everything you want. They gave you everything but a pacifier and a bib in Houston. Whatever you wanted, they gave you. They did. Everything. Money, helicopter rides, massage therapists, masseuse, hanging at the strip club, whatever you want. They did everything. Go to Vegas, whatever you want. Go to Vegas, whatever you want. I mean, they gave you everything.

And Daryl Morey took care of you. Right. To the point where Mike D'Antonio didn't even show negative plays of James Harden when James Harden was in the film room. He showed it about everybody else. He wouldn't even show him in the film room. This is me covering the NBA. I'll tell you what I know. Then you force your way out. You want to go to Philly because you want to go with Daryl Moore.

You want to follow him there. But they say no. So you want to go to Brooklyn. They tell you no initially. You show up to camp out of shape. You make it very, very clear that you ain't trying to do anything because you're trying to get the hell out of town. So they ultimately trade you to Brooklyn.

You get in Brooklyn. You force your way out of there because you want to go with daryl mori in philly which is where you want to go all along now although we can't absolve daryl mori if you lied to the man you lied to the right ain't nobody giving ain't nobody blaming you 20 million back that's right you know if you told him that you owe him that. Correct. Period. But why is anybody going to be sympathetic to James Harden with what James Harden has done

on three separate occasions? Right. And now you're doing it a fourth. And you got to remember when he was in Houston, I want Dwight Howard. I don't want Dwight Howard. I want Carmelo Anthony. Don't want Carmelo Anthony. I want CP3. I don't want CP3. I want Dwight Howard. I don't want Dwight Howard. I want Carmelo Anthony. Don't want Carmelo Anthony. I want CP3. I don't want CP3. I want Russ. I don't want Russ. And not one single championship to show for it.

It ain't like you a champion making these demands. You getting paid. You a showstopper. We get it. but you have no championships to show for any of your efforts at some point in time somebody got to be willing to say to you yo can you give me a little bit more oh by the way don't get me started with closeout games in the playoffs yeah we just saw what you did in the game seven nine points three for eleven shooting in a game seven closeout game against boston you had him for game 6. You were up 3-2 on your home turf in Philadelphia, and look what happened. Those are the kind of things that I'm talking about. And so when something like that happens, man, I can't support that.

Right. I can like him and be cool with him, but I can't support those actions. Some of the decisions that he's... Can't do it. What's KD's legacy going to can't do it what's Katie's legacy going to be what's Kevin Durant's legacy gonna come say I think Stephen a he was up 3-1 on the Golden State Warriors he's up 3-1 on a 73 win team now lose game 5 lose game lose game seven. And in games five and six himself, games five and six, he shot the ball terrible. Yeah. I will tell you this.

I think that Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players that I've ever seen. But when I saw how things materialized in Brooklyn, and then he went to Phoenix and got bounced out in the second round of Denver what I said was I can't put him above LeBron I used to look at him and his offensive arsenal and think that but what I realize is that I'm not showing enough respect and appreciation to the leadership that LeBron has exerted and exhibited. LeBron has been the face of every franchise he's been on, even though D-Wade was that lead in Miami. And when you look at LeBron, what he had to deal with with Kyrie, you know, what he had to deal with when he arrived in L.A., what he had to deal with with all the vitriol aimed in his direction in Miami and stuff like that.

Mental toughness, ultimately leadership, accountability. You know, of course, as he is in Cleveland, of course, when you look at all of these things, he showed an ability to deal with things Kevin Durant did not. Kevin Durant is a phenomenal player, a good brother, really authentic in a lot of ways. I got a lot of love for him. He is a two-time champion, a two-time NBA Finals MVP. We can't tell. I don't care that he's playing with the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 35. He was the MVP. He balled you know he showed his greatness but the problem that I would tell you that was really put on display in Brooklyn he needed to be a leader but he doesn't want that he's already told you that and that's the difference LeBron wants it

LeBron wants to be the leader right LeBron accepts it you know know, you know, Kyrie is Kyrie. And, you know, I'm not here to I'm not going to throw no shade. Me and Kyrie have had our issues. That stuff has been resolved. But the point is, is that at the end of the day, Kyrie. That is somebody that Kevin Durant, if he were that leader, had to reel in. Right. By simply saying, man, I'll bump all this. We try to win the chip. Right. Kyrie doesn't hurt his ankle against Milwaukee in the playoffs. Brooklyn might have won it all. Right. Because I think they win that series against Milwaukee. I do, too. And I think they could have beaten Phoenix. I mean, it's just that simple to me. And so when I'm looking at it from that perspective, I'm just saying to myself, you, Kevin Durant.

It's about living and let living and let and i'll do my job right now it's about making sure that the ultimate job is to try to win the chip right and letting nothing stand in the way of that if you're on a football field ray lewis might have been the leader you ain't gonna be quiet if you see cats blowing your opportunity to win the super bowl championship you're gonna be like yo you see cats blowing your opportunity to win the Super Bowl championship. You're going to be like, yo. And I remember when Isaiah Thomas, the great Isaiah Thomas, two-time champion, Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas,

was arguing with me one time about Kyrie. And I said to him, it was over the vaccine thing. And I said, I'm going to end this conversation right now, Z, by one simple question. If a member of the Detroit Pistons that was such an integral part of your championship hopes took that position, what would you have done? Isaiah started laughing.

He said, as a team, we'd have snatched his ass up, we'd have sat him down, tied him up, and we'd have injected the shit into myself. He said, now, he might have been mad at us, he might have been mad at us, He might have been mad at us. Right. But we would have done it. Right.

I said, I rest my case. Right. All I'm saying is that at the end of the day, we trying to win. And anything that gets in the way of that is secondary. Right. To that actually being a priority. That's all I'm saying. And I think Kevin Durant should have had that attitude.

And I don't think he did. You look at the West. The Nuggets won the championship. I like Nikola Jokic. I think he's one of the two best players in all of basketball. You got Phoenix. This is a year. Book and KD together.

Bradley Bill joined. You got the Warriors. CP3. What's going to be his role in that situation? The Lakers. If Anthony Davis is healthy, I like that they have depth Austin Reeves I like I like what's how's the West gonna shake first of all we always root for the Lakers because they're something couple yeah I mean we you know if you ask me you know I want to go to San Francisco or LA is LA all day every day get twice or Sundays so so just for my

own personal preferences, it's always LA. LA, Miami is my dream scenario. That's why I was so miserable during COVID because the one time I wanted to get my dream in LA, Miami.

You go crazy COVID. It was in the bubble. It was in the bubble. I was so depressed. I was so depressed. But I'll tell you this. I don't believe in Anthony Davis in terms of his availability

I'm not talking about his skill set I'm not talking about whether he cares or not I'm talking about Injury prone Sporadic There's something going on with him Where instead of talking about me getting in the gym You need to be talking to him to get in the gym

Because he's just up and down It's like this brother sat up there and ate a healthy meal one day and then ate a bag of Skittles the next and it's plumbing. You know what I'm saying? I don't understand it. And I can't have faith in that. I think they'll make the playoffs. I think they'll be formidable.

I dismiss the Clippers because I just don't believe that Kawhi Leonard will ever be healthy. I just don't believe it. Well, Paul George and Ms. Damm is much time. I agree with you. That's totally, totally true. I remember I just don't believe it. Well, Paul George is Miss Damien as much time. I agree with you. That's totally, totally true. I remember I just saw the numbers recently. I think

Paul George misses about 38% of his games and Kawhi's at 48%. So I think it's around that. Paul George talking about he going to play bully ball and all that. So we'll see. You know what I'm saying? Especially if it's talking to him and Devin Booker was going back and forth. I got to see that because I know Devin Booker's coming. He that dude.

Devin Booker's for it. And I'm talking about see that because I know Devin Booker's coming. He that dude. Yeah, he's real. Devin Booker's real, and I'm talking about his mentality. He ain't scared of nothing. He coming for you. So I definitely respect that, and we're going to see what Beal and KD do together as well. Phoenix, to me, should be the favorites. You look at Denver, they're obviously formidable, and you got that cohesiveness. So I would tell you a rematch between Denver and Phoenix in all likelihood the conference finals,

as opposed to the divisional playoff round, semifinals rather. We'll see that, but that's what comes to my mind. I don't expect much from Dallas, even though Anthony Edwards is on the rise. I don't expect much from Minnesota. I don't expect much from Minnesota. Dallas, to me, they don't have the personnel. Do you think Minnesota should now run the team

through Anthony Edwards as opposed to Kent? Yes. I agree. I agree, totally. I think that Anthony Edwards is one of those dudes. He's one of those dudes. He's coming. And I feel that way. But I definitely think that when you look at the two teams, I would look at Phoenix and Denver,

and then I would look at the Lakers and Clippers on the outside on the come up. Right. That's how I view the West. You didn't mention the Grizzlies. Obviously, the Josh situation, hopefully, I think they'll appeal. I should have mentioned the Grizzlies. They're appealing his 25-game suspension.

So I'm under the assumption that it's going to stick. Let's just say for this argument, it's going to stick. You've been outspoken. I've been very outspoken. And I don't know Josh, but if I could sit down, I just thought he was moving in a direction that wasn't conducive to accomplish what he really, really wanted to accomplish.

That's being an outstanding basketball player, be a brand, the Ja brand, being one of the faces of the NBA. I agree with you. If there's some advice you could give him, I don't know how well you know his dad. I don't. I don't. I've met him both once.

Ja's a great player. Ja's phenomenal. Phenomenal. And I think that Ja is going to come back with a vengeance. You know, I really, really believe he's going to come back with a vengeance. He's going to wreak havoc. And I love the acquisition of Marcus Smart. I got Boston, by the way, as my favorite overall.

Really? Yes, I do. Wow. I think Porzingis at 7'3", with the ability to step away from the basket and shoot, combined with Tatum and Brown, still keeping Al Horford, okay, and Robert Williams in the mix, with a Derek White, with a Malcolm Brogdon, the reigning sixth man of the year. I think when you look at their depth, their athleticism,

their perimeter shooting, their ability to defend, the fact that Missoula has a year under his belt coaching the team, I think all of those things bode well for Boston. They've been knocking on the door long enough. You Jalen Brown, you just signed for $300 million, you damn well better show up. And if you Jason Tatum,

who's in line for about $360 million, you damn well better show up. And so I'm going to assume that they will. But I think Mark is smart. Losing him, it'll be felt to some degree. But I definitely think it's going to help Memphis immensely. Right. And I think that, you know, and I think that.

And you get big Steven Adams back and Clark. And people don't realize Adams and Clark being gone, Lakers don't beat them like that if Adams and Clark are healthy. That just doesn't happen because Adams and Clark are no joke. And so I take that into consideration as well. Having said all of that, I'm not sure on their shooting collectively. Right. Okay, so that concerns me. I think they're sporadic defensively.

That concerns me. I think their coaching concerns me to some degree. So I look at Memphis. But in terms of my advice to Ja, it's this, man. Some people you got to leave behind. And I don't mean cut them off like you don't know them. I don't mean cut them off like you can't be with them. But I'll give you a perfect example.

I got brothers that I grew up with in Queens, New York. Half of them are dead because, you know, the drug game was real prevalent then. And I was blessed that I was never a part of it. But most of my friends were. And, you know, I got a couple of I got a couple of bros that, you know, did some time. And I'll always look out for them. I'll always have love for them. Shannon, they can't hang with me.

No. They can't hang with me. You're not coming to work with me. You're not coming to a game with me. That's not happening. Now, I see your neighborhood. What's up? How you doing?

You need me for anything. What's up? What you need? I can help for anything, what's up? What you need? I can help you. I'm more than happy to do that. So I'm not talking about ostracizing you. But the NBA is your business. What happened with John Moran cost him about 60 million dollars. 60 million dollars. You ain't getting that back.

No. No matter how much money you get, you ain't getting that back. And so for me, you know, you know what his dad look I'm a father you're a father here's the deal I know you can't tell your son literally tell him what to do he's a grown-up right but certain things he don't need to be doing right in front of you correct you're the grown-up you dead and you are not supposed to be trying to live the life he living you know what i'm saying y'all made it and you're gonna make it even more and so it's not to cast dispersions insult them denigrate them in any way who wouldn't root for john moran who ain't rooting

for him to succeed i don't know anybody that ain't rooting for him i know i'm rooting for him to succeed? I don't know anybody that ain't rooting for him. I know I'm rooting for him. I know you're rooting for him. But how are we helping you if we see you doing stuff that we know could potentially lead to your downfall and we say nothing? Are we really trying to help you if we say nothing? No. We're not trying to help you. And that's why we say something. Because we want you to correct the errors so you can rise and prosper and live your life. I don't know what you feel about this, but said this at the time the 75th anniversary I said Anthony Davis shouldn't have made it over Dwight

Howard. Stan Van Gundy said you can't make a case to say Anthony Davis career has been better than Dwight Howard. What's your take on that? I kind of agree. Anthony Davis was a prolific scorer, but at the end of the day, he wasn't relevant until he arrived to the Lakers with LeBron. Correct. Dwight Howard was the three-time defensive player of the year, extraordinary shot blocker and eraser,

was never the offensive player that Anthony Davis was, but certainly was just as impactful and more successful because he was on a squad that Anthony Davis won a championship with as a reserve, which means he's got a ring too. And so you offset that and now look at their careers, Even though the talent that is Anthony Davis, I consider to be better than Dwight Howard. The impact of your career is not greater than that of Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard took the team to the NBA Finals. Yes, he did. In his prime, he was one of the five best players in the NBA.

Absolutely. Absolutely. So I can't disagree with that. I can't disagree. I can say Anthonyis is a better talent yes but it also highlights what you must not be doing right because a lesser talent that is howard was more impactful than you were right players under 25 you got luca jt trey young zion anthony edwards you know what zion because you've been very I've been very outspoken

Stephen that you know I'm a nutritional guy right I'm in the body and I said he's just too big right I said y'all keep all shedding you don't know what's going on I say bro the man is 300 plus I can tell he's not eating the way he should in order to maximize too many burgers but you know you in New Orleans you know in New Orleans eating gumbo and etouffee and jambalaya. Everything. Yeah. Everything is on lanes. So how do we get Zion to understand?

Because I think the greatest person that he needs to sit down and have an hour-long conversation with is Charles Barkley. He's a more athletic Charles Barkley. I just got to be honest. I don't think he cares enough. Wow. I don't think he cares enough. I'm not saying he doesn't care. I'm not talking about

caring. I'm talking about that fire. That passion. That is the end all be all. Because I believe he's in a market he don't want to be i said i believe if he was in new york or someplace where he really really wanted to be we see a more dedicated zion to his physicality and the point is is that i don't know that to be sure but you can't walk around as big as he is no and tell me you dedicated right you can't you can't because even when you're when you're restricted in terms of your mobility you

know what you'll do you'll eat less and you'll eat better because you'll fear bloating no you'll fear blowing up and not being ready when called upon once you hear right that hasn't been the case because if you eat too many games if you eating bad while you're active and running up and down the court what the hell you think you're gonna eat when you can't run up and down the court that's right so now the 30 pounds that you took off because you was healthy and athletic and running up and down the court you better put 50 back on exactly and that's exactly how I feel. And because of that, again, I love Zion's game. I believe he's a potential superstar in this league. He's something to behold.

But I think it's fair to question his commitment to his conditioning. Right. And if you're questioning somebody's commitment to conditioning, you're questioning whether or not they care. And that's really what it comes down to. Right. We've talked about players under 25. Luka, Jason Tatum, Trey Young, Zion, Anthony Edwards, Lamello,

Shea Gilgis, Dee Fox, or Jordan Poole. I'm going to give you one guy of those guys I mentioned. Who are you taking? A lot of people would say Luka. I'm going to say Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum is 6'9". Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum 6'9". Jason Tatum can shoot the three. I saw Jason Tatum drop 46 in a closeout playoff game six in Milwaukee.

I saw Jason Tatum handle his business in a game seven. I've seen a young Jason Tatum, who ain't even 27 years of age yet, be a primary option on a team that's going to five conference championship games, championship series, and an NBA finals. I just look at him and I say, and not only that, we just talked about conditioning. There have been times when we've looked at Luka and we've said, he ain't in shape.

He's getting in shape as the season progresses. Correct. We look at Jason Tatum from day one and say, he's in shape. Right. That matters to me. I would go with Jason Tatum. Andre Iguodala says, the player with the mentality that's closest to Kobe Bryant is Jimmy Butler.

You agree with that? Closest to Kobe Bryant is Jimmy Butler. You agree with that? Closest to Kobe Bryant is Jimmy Butler. As far as mentality? You could say that. I would beg to differ. Who you like? Devin Booker. Jimmy Butler works.

But the difference between Jimmy Butler and Devin Booker is Jimmy Butler doesn't care that much about offense until the postseason arrives. Right. Kobe cared about it all the time. Yeah. And Devin Booker cares about it all the time. Right. They coming out looking for their shot from opening tip off.

Jimmy Butler, sometimes you literally feel like you got to throw something at him just to make him shoot the basketball. Right. It's not a priority for him. And that is why I would say no on that Kobe comparison. Not much is known about Stephen A's private life. Yep. You, like myself, are very, very private. Yep.

How have you been able to maintain that level of privacy? Number one, I'm quick to sell somebody to mind their damn business. You know, and that's a kind way of putting it. And I will cancel a woman in a heartbeat that talks about my business. She utters my name. What? Publicly about us. She gone.

I wouldn't hesitate. She happy for us. I don happy for us I don't care I don't care you know why because I want you to know who my woman is when she's mrs. Smith I'm talking about publicly right I'm not talking about you know Shannon go Shannon go meet my girl right no Jamie's met my dear yourself yeah I'm not so about that yeah I'm talking about announcing it. You see us and people talk. Oh, no.

Let them talk. You better not talk. I will cancel you quicker than you. So she can't post nothing on IG? Never. She wouldn't make it to my crib. I'm not joking. She wouldn't make it to my crib.

She could live five minutes away. She'd be gone by five minutes. I don't play. She wouldn't make it to my crib. She could live five minutes away. She'd be gone by five minutes. I don't play that because here's the thing. I'm in the public eye. Yes.

Let me tell you what I detest. And I've never done this to another man. It makes me cringe when this happens to a man. I can't get over how these stars

be messing with somebody and then you with somebody else. Well, that's who he used to mess with. Nah. I mean, who are you talking about? It could be an ex. I'd be like, who are you talking about? That's a friend. I don't know what you're

talking about. Steven, you used to mess with her. Who? I ain't used to messing with her. I don't know what you're talking about. Ain't none of your business. I'm not doing that. You know, when she misses Smith, you'll know who she is. Until that time, I might have messed with her. I might not have messed with Okay. You know, when she misses Smith, you'll know who she is. Right. Until that time, I might've messed with her. I might not have messed with her.

You'll never know. Right. I don't do that. And I can't stand when we see people out here like sharing the information and, you know, it's on Instagram and Twitter. We grown ass men and women. When did everybody,

when did your business become everybody else's business i don't i don't vibe with that i have no no patience with that and anybody who knows me and i mean anybody who knows me they'll tell you right now i live in la five minutes from where we are they wouldn't make it to my crib being my woman if I saw something on social media that was initiated by them about me They out I wouldn't hesitate I have been that way my entire adult life and I will never change when in that regard I could be getting ready getting married dog wedding called off. So it was always a game with me So it was all the game with me. It was always your it was always says once you got into the public eye

Was to be private. Absolutely. It's not everybody's business. It's not everybody's business. Look, I know people's business. You see me. I'm on TV. I'm a professional journalist.

I challenge anybody to talk about Steve and A talking about their personal private business. Now, if you're walking out in public and putting everything on display and all of that all right that's fine you know i'm saying i just talked about making good and i find that stuff the other day okay i get it you understand i'm saying some non-lates and i mean she's been fine for years you know i mean i got it yeah you know stuff like that but you don't hear me talking about people's private business right i don't do it right i don't and i never ever will i read what your daughters don't like when people come up to you and ask for autographs when they're in your presence oh they oh oh my lord hey listen man do they have a social media presence a little bit but i i i try to

monitor it and you know i leave that to their mom but I will tell you this for me oh my god being a dad for daughters it's the greatest blessing and the worst curse because the blessing is you didn't know what love is until they you thought you knew what love was and then they came along yeah man love this the curse is you didn't know what love is until they came along so you're never at peace you're always worried you're worried about everything you're worried about everything and and they they they they daddy's you know daughters so they like me from the standpoint like first of all i'm not that special i'm just dad what is so big about you i mean please why why all you do is talk on television i mean who cares oh lord can we hurry

up please what do they want your autograph for i mean but then they get attitude because it's like they're taking our time right hurry up right like literally right and it's like and I knew I knew from the time my daughters was like seven eight years old I came home and I had to do I had to get to Dallas I was supposed to go from LA straight to Dallas I literally flew home on the red eye just to take them to school and to give them a hug and a kiss and I took them to school they all happy and bouncing around and all that stuff and I drove them to school and I said okay um daddy gotta go they like what and I was like this eyes probably they they gotta go to to work in Dallas and the teacher's like

just go just go right and I get on get on the road I'm going to the airport and I call the school and speak to them

and they're like could you call back later they don't want to talk to you and I'm like this is 70 years old and it's like and I knew then my life's over.

Mm-hmm. It belongs to them. They run my life. Right. So I squeeze in things for me. Right. But they're the generals. That's how it goes.

Do your kids watch? Your kids, they're at the age now, they understand what you do. 15 and 14. Yeah. So they understand what you do. Yes. They know who dad is. That's right.

That's right. And they see me lied on a lot because a lot of times I've been accused of saying something or doing something. They know better. Well, I was accused of being someplace like daddy. He was with us, you know, but but it's like it is what it is. They understand it. And I tell them it's about tough skin. Right. You can't overreact to everything you understand when you're in the public eye. People are going to lie to you all the time. They're going to invade your privacy. They're going to instigate stuff. They're willing. They're looking to provoke a reaction. And I can't give it to them because if I do, then I take the bait and it can jeopardize what I'm trying to build. And so you explain those things to them and you hope that they understand.

What advice would you give a young journalist because you know the the newspaper business is not what it was when you got into it yep um everybody gets their you know because it's so instantaneous now steven a you got social media yep so now ain't nobody just sitting there watching uh the six o'clock news and there's nobody just just reading the newspaper right so what advice would you give young journalists first of, understand that everything feeds off of information. You've got to be about the business of acquiring intel and information because that means you have something to talk about. You have something to write about. You have something to express opinions about, whether it be via radio, television, podcast, newspaper, magazines, dot com, whatever, whatever.

Content is king right content will never go anywhere how people are receiving that content is what has changed linear television was once here now it's dissipating before our very eyes there's some people that are projecting within the next decade youtube will be more popular than some of the networks right if not already and so you have to take that into consideration. That's point number one. Point number two is that you're trying to build something, build a brand, know who you are, know what you stand for,

recognize what gravitates folks towards you and what doesn't. And that's how you go about the business of building something. Number three, master your business. You got to know what you're talking about. You got to know what you want to do. A lot of people want a podcast.

Well, do you know what comes with a podcast? It ain't just a microphone and a camera. There's a production team that's behind the scenes. There's a sales and marketing angle. There's a sales angle that comes with it, a marketing angle that comes with it, a technological angle that comes with it. There's people operating these cameras, you know, you know, these microphones, making sure the audio is right, et cetera, et cetera. Well, how much is that going to cost?

Okay, what level of cost comes with it, okay? One of the things that I would give advice to a lot of students who want to come up, no matter what major you take, minor in business,

because everything comes down to business now. You've got to be about the business of knowing what your business entails. That way you know how to do business. You know what you're negotiating. You have the business of knowing what your business entails that way you know how to do business you know what you're negotiating you have an idea what it entails you know when you've made mistakes and how to pick up on that i started my own podcast months ago i've made a lot

of mistakes why because i never had a podcast right i had to learn through osmosis but i put myself through that fire initially on purpose so when it grew as it's been growing then i'm in a position to now make the proper decisions because i use that you know that that that infancy period to really learn and gain knowledge about the industry how much it's going to cost what my losses and my profits look like etc etc all of those things are things that you have to know because the business itself that used to exist is no longer now they're looking for you to bring your business to them shannon sharp you own your own podcast club shea shea over a million followers doing your thing proud of you my brother keep doing your thing no doubt you got to keep doing that right own and operate your

business and there's people around you that's working for you so you're going to be attracted because you're bringing a business to a potential network right to buy to lease to etc etc they don't want to just employ people anymore they don't want to deal with that overhead right they don't want to deal with the expenses that come with the overhead they want you to deal with that now pat mcafee the deal he just signed with espn you got so many people hating on him shut up all of y'all shut up yes the man had his own business he spent years developing his own business betting on himself just like you bet on yourself just like i'm betting on myself i just started betting on myself because i was hindered contractually and i had a lot of obstacles to overcome in my career before

I could get to this point although this was always the vision I had to start late this is what comes with it when you know those things you become a business and as Jay-Z would say I'm not a businessman I'm a business man and that's what people want to see I'm gonna get you out of here on this one yeah we both work with Skip yeah um you work him, I think, a little longer than I have. We both have given him credit for opening up his platform and allowing us to be who we are. We could grow

our own platforms to become, as you mentioned earlier, businesses of ourselves. What's for the people, I don't know how many people have heard and I'm going to follow up after you. Skip, what's he really like? Because I think the thing is, if you've never met him, you just see know how many people have heard, and I'm going to follow up after you. Sure. Skip, what's he really like? Because I think the thing is, if you've never met him, you just see him on television, you say, okay, that's him and who he is. Skip's a different beast.

I don't know if you can just describe him in one simple way. You can't. You can't. This dude's definition of advice is Diet Mountain Dew. This dude was in the 60s and in the 70s running anywhere from five to eight miles a day um eating the same meals for breakfast lunch dinner um introducing himself to his now wife and their first date you will never be more important than my job get over that from now or don't bother i mean that's his definition of turning her on i guess

so i'm like i'm just like that's he's a different animal right um you know and there are highs and lows that come with him correct um he knows that there's highs and lows that come with me there's highs and lows that come with you and everybody else and that's the way it goes but you know I'm a man first and it's about a core decency of appreciation the reality is is that no matter how problematic and he can be problematic at times no matter how problematic he can be the reality is is that I wouldn't be where I am today if he didn't give me that opportunity on first take. And so for me to be where I am and to know that it's spring is springboards off of something that he was directly involved in making happen. For me to insult him in any way is just disrespectful. It's wrong. And it's something that I would never do now that

don't mean I can't disagree with him absolutely that doesn't mean that I can't feel that he's wrong and anybody like a Jamie Harwood yourself and others who know me have gotten to know me in your case you know I would tell him he's wrong to his face right he knows where I stand um but it doesn't take away my love and appreciation for him and the fact that he will always be a brother from another mother to me yeah so I've always made that clear with everybody yeah it's not often that someone can give you that opportunity and uh I and I've said this several times for me I cannot let six months ruin six and a half good years right because sometimes people are willing to throw everything away for one mistake. Right.

Or one bad comment or one something like this. Right. And even though that was all we were supposed to get. My sister tells me this all the time. Say, Shannon, this was all we were supposed to get. About four months ago, I had Tabitha Brown. She's great. I've interviewed her before.

She's fantastic. Stephen A. She had no idea this was going on, so we wrapped the interview. And I'm going to end it on this one. And I'm taking off my microphone. She says, is the mics off? I said, well, I'm taking my mic off. You can take yours off.

We took our mics off, and she leans in close to me. She said, I had a dream last night. God told me it's going to be okay for you to go ahead and do what you need to do she says it's gonna be different but you need to go on your own now God told me that she said now you do what you want to do with it right but God just she said and when I get dreams like this and I'm ever in the person's presence, it's my duty to tell them. A month later. Yeah. Yeah.

And I'm like, when she's telling me this, Stephen A., you see how you're looking at me? I'm looking at her. How you know what's going on? Right. She said, God told me this last night. And it's funny that I'm sitting here doing this interview. I did this interview with you, and I needed to tell you this Once she told me that I was at peace because I'm racking my brain. I'm like, what did I do?

Did I say something that I've been somebody I mean, I just I think I'm doing a great job She said be at peace with it. Yeah, and that's what I told you you did That's what I told you because the reality of the situation is that you know, I'm not going to apologize listen i got a lot of friends over there all right we all know that i know a lot of people um but that don't mean that what happened to you was fair plain and simple okay that ain't the end of the world nope but it is what it is yeah so you know to me it was just important for us in this industry to stand up and say, yo, he's one of us. He can't get him to go out like this. And that was it for me. It was just that simple.

You can go wherever you want. You want to come first take, fine. You want to go somewhere else, fine. Because I got my crew here at first take and I'm not trying to get rid of anybody. You understand what I'm saying? Because I'm not going to do this forever. And when it's my time to go, it's my time to go. And it's time for somebody else to step up. But as long as I'm here, my attitude was going to be, listen,

the people that have been a treasure and a tribute to this industry are the people that I'm going to do all that I can to remind folks. This is what they do. I don't want to be one of those dudes that I got these platforms first take and I got my podcast and I'm doing NBA countdown and I got more stuff coming down the line and everything like that. And all I'm talking about is what I'm doing. It's my job to highlight what everybody else is doing. You wanted a few, Stephen A. Because I know a lot of people that could have opportunities to help somebody, but they want to be the only ninja with money. No. I don't want that.

And I told you this. And I'll tell the audience that I told you this. I said, you might be at first take for one year. You might be at first take for years to come. It's my responsibility. And I'm dead serious. It's a heart attack. It's my responsibility to make sure that you are more successful with me than you were before you arrived.

That's what you told me. That's my responsibility. And I'm going to make sure it happens come hell or high water. We ain't going down, brother. We only going down. You know that, dude. That's just the way it's going to be. You know.

That's just the way it's going to be. Goat man coming. That's right. August even eight. You know what I'm saying? Oh, man. HBCU is the takeover. I ain't trying to lose.

I'm never about that. Anybody that knows me ain't about that. I don't mean no disrespect to nobody. Y'all heard it. That's him. As good as it gets right here. Stephen A. Smith. Monday, September 4th. No doubt.

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