← The Stephen A. Smith Show
The Stephen A. Smith Show
Full Show: Iron Mike Tyson looked old with knee brace. Chiefs lose, who is NFL's Best?
01:13:53
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- [00:00]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:31]
Julie Swerbinks
What's up everyone? Julie Swerbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
- [00:36]
Nate Thompson
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.
- [00:38]
Julie Swerbinks
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [00:42]
Nate Thompson
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
- [00:47]
Julie Swerbinks
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
- [00:51]
Nate Thompson
Julia's pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [00:55]
Julie Swerbinks
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:14]
Stephen A. Smith
What's up everybody? Hope you enjoyed your wonderful weekend. Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith show coming at you over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio. As always, before I get into anything like, take a moment to thank my subscribers and followers that have been supporting the show over these last few months or so. We have now exceeded more than 923,000 subscribers on this YouTube channel, not to mention over 3 million downloads over the last couple of months over iHeartRadio. Can't thank y'all enough for the love and support. Keep it coming and I'm gonna keep on coming. To continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell and YouTube shall be the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family because you'll have access to all of our newest content. And by the way, while you're doing that, make sure to get a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, A memoir of second chances and first takes now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com and you can get yourself a copy. Once again, that's straight shooter book.com to get yourself a copy, especially with the holiday season coming up. I've been told the book is quite inspirational, if I should say so myself. Let's get started on this particular show because there's a lot of sports to get into and the first order of business would be the Mike Tyson, Jake Paul fight with the spectacle on Netflix Friday. Friday night, the primetime fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson took place. Many people experienced technical difficulties trying to watch the event. As Netflix said, more than 60 million people tuned into the fight at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The outcome of the fight was no surprise as 58 year old Mike Tyson started strong, supposedly against Jake Paul, but quickly ran out of gas. The fight went the distance with the 27 year old Paul winning a unanimous decision. If anything, the event proved that Jake Paul, a social media star, is one hell of a promoter who can draw big audiences to boxing events. In fact, per CNBC, the fight brought in 17.8 million in ticket revenue. That makes it the richest boxing gate in history outside of Las Vegas. Look, y'all, I'm gonna have Andre Ward coming on in a few minutes to talk about it. He was doing color commentary for the fight. Um, I'll get to him in a little while. But let me say this. I'm happy for Mike Tyson from the standpoint that he went to eight rounds, he didn't get knocked out. I'm happy for Mike Tyson because he got $20 million, reportedly to Jake Paul's $40 million. I'm happy for Mike Tyson because he left with all his faculties in order. He got to fight in front of his children, who may have never seen him fight before. And that crowd and that ovation and the love and adulation that was thrown in his direction when he was introduced was obviously special for him. And it was special for the people who love him, including all the fight fans the world over. Because anybody that loved boxing absolutely, positively loved watching Mike Tyson fight. Having said that, let me say this. I never want to see it again ever in life. Father Tom is undefeated, y'all. The brother's 58 years old and he looked it. Mike Tyson was gassed one minute into the fight. Now, I know he ultimately came on after the fight and posted something on X, I believe, where he was talking about he almost died months ago and had to have blood transfusions. And, you know, he was having some health issues. I get all of that. But at some point in time, number one, we got to recognize when the time is up. I'm gonna tell y'all exactly what I thought transpired Friday night. I thought Jake Paul had every intention of walking into the ring and trying to do something spectacular. As a guy that was 31 years Mike Tyson's junior, Mike Tyson's 58, Jake Paul is 27. He was thinking about knocking Mike Tyson out. I think that when he saw Mike Tyson introduced, when Mike Tyson stumbled walking into the ring, he looked unsteady. When he had a knee brace on his right knee and he walked into the ring and he saw Mike Tyson, saw how old he looked, saw how slow he appeared, et cetera, I think that Jake Paul said, I can't do this. I know I could possibly, if I pressed him, if I really pushed it, if for nothing else but fatigue alone, I possibly could put him down. And ladies and gentlemen, that's not far fetched because consider just 20 years earlier, when Mike Tyson was in his 30s, but the end of his career had arrived when he got dropped by Kevin McBride. Mike Tyson wasn't hurt. He was tired, he was fatigued, he was out of shape. And you remember when he got dropped and he was sitting on his behind and he literally lifted his arm for the referee to help help him up. That's how tired he was. That was over 20 years ago. That's about 20 years ago, rather. What the hell did you think he was Friday night? Now, that's a father time issue. I'm not throwing any shade on a great iron. Mike Tyson At 58 years of age, most people don't look that strong. Most people aren't that strong. And most people couldn't perform on their best day the way that he performed in his worst day. But that don't mean we need to see the shit. It's over. It's over. And hopefully he could go and he got his 20 million and he's chilling and fine, I got it. I just don't want to see it again. I found myself sitting there praying, praying he didn't get knocked out, praying he didn't get. I was so happy it was 14 ounce gloves, but I was upset that the ring was bigger and wider because all you got to do is move around. Mike Tyson ain't trying to move around like that at age 58. So I want to get that out the way first. But I wanted to get to a bigger point because the time comes, somewhat, pun intended, for us to take the gloves off when it comes to Jake Paul. Now, unlike people who've worked with me, unlike people who are friends and colleagues, what have you, I didn't find it funny when Jake Paul knocked the living shit out of Nate Robinson and put him to sleep. That was a very, very, very scary moment. I'll never forget. Snoop Dogg is doing color commentary for that fight. And when Jake Paul knocked Nate Robinson out Cold. You heard Snoop Dogg say, oh, Lord, remember that? And it was somewhat funny to a lot of people. But if you go back and you watch the fight and you listen, you hear Snoop get quiet. And when I later asked Snoop Dogg about that, you know what he told me? He said it wasn't funny because number one, Nate didn't get up. Number two, when he was ultimately awakened, he couldn't even sit on the stool. They had to carry him out. Which was why Jake Paul went from celebrating his victory over Nate Robinson to getting very quiet because he got worried, because it was that scary what he did to him. I bring all of that up to say somebody like a Nate Robinson, for example, or you know, Woodley, Tyrone Woodley from the ufc, or you know some other striker. Jake Paul is a boxer and a very vicious puncher when he connects with you. He has been training with professional trainers, boxing trainers, for years. Well, the time has come to get in the ring with boxers and Tommy Fury don't count. Nor the no name dude that you caught with an uppercut and put him down in the first or second round. Nor is it the 58 year old Mike Tyson. Now, Jake Paul is to be appreciated because this brother has shown boxers, fighters don't have to be at the mercy of promoters in order to put forth big boxing matches. If you got 70,000 to show up at Jerry World in Texas, well, imagine if he fought a real boxer who is a championship contender. Because I got news for you. Yes, Mike Tyson is Mike Tyson. But 70,000 people didn't show up for Mike Tyson. They showed up for Jake Paul too. So you got the name, you got some marketing cachet. Big time marketing cachet. You got skills when we go see you fight somebody talking about somebody in their 30s, I'm talking about somebody that actually boxes professionally. Not as a strike in the ufc. Not some basketball player. No, not anybody like that. Not some dude whose only claim to fame is that he's Tyson Fury's little brother. I need somebody that's got skills, that's got a reputation. We gotta start holding Jake Paul accountable for that. Not because he can't fight, because we know he can. Do you understand? And again, again, I got Kylie somebody looking at me right now, laughing, laughing their ass off thinking about what happened to Nate Robinson. You do know that if that was in the streets, Jake Paul would have been arrested, right? Because he trains as a professional and the basketball player didn't. These are the kind of things that I'm talking about here. Box is a skill. Let me Give y'all an example. Remember Francis Ngannou? Remember that monster, that Nigerian nightmare? Remember him? And then we saw him show up and show a little skill against Tyson Fury, who came there out of shape. What happened when he got into the ring with Anthony Joshua? He got put to sleep much in the same way Nate Robinson got put to sleep. Boxing is a skill. Jake Paul is a professional. He trains at some point in time, I don't give a damn if it's a light heavyweight. Better be of baval a super middleweight. Canelo, Mexican monster. David Benavides, somebody that actually has a reputation. The time has come for Jake Paul to step into the ring with a cat who actually boxes for a living and give us that fight. That's what I'm talking about. I appreciate the fact of him promoting. I appreciate him having the cachet. As a former YouTuber turned boxer, I appreciate the cachet he's got. I like Jake Paul. I respect Jake Paul. I'm just saying because I like him and because I respect him. I want to see him in the ring, and I don't want to hear, I know his numbers are better because he actually drew more to this fight against Tyson Friday night at Jerry World that Canelo Alvarez did against. I think it was that guy Saunders a couple of years back. I got all that. But then he gonna say, I don't need Canelo. Canelo needs me. Well, wait a minute. It ain't just about popularity, bro, because the Mexicans and Latinos pretty much gonna follow Canelo wherever he goes. But it ain't just about that. Canelo's a champion. Canelo is elite. Canelo has fought against some of the best in the world, and he's still elite. So in terms of popularity, sure. But in terms of. You want to make that argument that you're just as popular as him, fine. Not as respected. This Canelo Alvarez we talk about here, bro. Jake Paul's got to get in the ring with fighters. He's got to get in the ring with fighters and not dudes that folks joke about being geriatric because they approach 60 years of age. Gotta get in the ring with people around your age, somewhere in that vicinity who actually box professionally for a living. It has. The time has arrived for us to demand that from Jake Paul. I'm just being honest with it, but don't worry about me. I just got a small opinion. I got somebody that's got a much better opinion, much more valuable, respected and substantive opinion than, dare I say, myself. We gonna get to him in a minute. I wanna take a second to make sure everybody knows we're smack dab in the middle of the NFL season. And with games being played Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night, I couldn't be more excited. But what's even more exciting is that Prize Picks wants to help you cash in on all those big time games. You see, Prize Picks is a daily fantasy app where you can pick two or more of your favorite players and then you simply select more or less on the projected stats for the game. Pick a player's passing yards, another's rushing yards, and another's total touchdowns. The list is endless. And the good news just keeps on coming because with Prize Picks, you can choose from any sport you love to watch. Basketball, football, hockey, soccer, even mma all in the same entry. And now with Prospects Live square option, you'll be able to place mid game picks on full game projections. 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- [15:28]
Hunter
Geico's motorcycle expertise means I'm covered by people who know bikes like I do.
- [15:33]
Nate Thompson
I'm happy as a clam. No conclusive scientific research has shown clams can experience happiness.
- [15:38]
Hunter
It just meant that I feel really.
- [15:39]
Julie Swerbinks
Good about my coverage.
- [15:40]
Nate Thompson
I mean, even if you took the clam out for the best day ever, visiting the zoo, taking a scenic ride, knowing you're insured by specialists, and sharing a strawberry ice cream cone together, the.
- [15:46]
Chris Carter
Clam would not feel happy and your.
- [15:48]
Nate Thompson
Strawberry cone would taste sort of clammy. Ew. Geico's motorcycle specialists who know bikes like.
- [15:51]
Chris Carter
You do, assume no liability for Clammy ice cream cones.
- [15:54]
Nate Thompson
Geico expertise for your motorcycle.
- [15:58]
Hunter
I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car, and she never returned home that day. One podcast, one mission. Save our girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [17:05]
Stephen A. Smith
My next guest retired from boxing with an undefeated record of 32. 0. He held world championship titles in both the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. But more importantly, he was in an anal. He was an analyst Friday night for the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Please welcome to the Stephen A. Smith show, one of the greatest fighters in history, retiring again as an undefeated champion, the one and only Andre Ward. What's up, big time? How you doing, man? How's everything, man?
- [17:33]
Nate Thompson
You know, it's always a pleasure to be on with you, man. How you doing, man?
- [17:36]
Stephen A. Smith
Please, pleasure's all mine, my man. Give it to me straight. What were your thoughts after witnessing that fight Friday night?
- [17:44]
Nate Thompson
It's what I thought it was going to be. People signed up for this fight. They tuned, tuned in. They showed up to AT&T Stadium partly because of Jake Paul, his following and everything that he brings to the table. But then it's also, they wanted, it was the idea of who Mike Tyson was. They forgot about him being 58 years old. They glossed over that. And Mike being a master salesman and, and being that guy that when he gets into that mode, that fight mode, he can come with these one liners and these quips that get people excited. That's what people signed up for. But when he got in the ring, you saw maybe one or two rounds of, of flashes of Mike, that explosiveness, that power that didn't land clean, but you saw him unleash that power and it got people excited. But 58 took over. 58 wasn't playing around on fight night. And that's just what you saw Friday night.
- [18:40]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, you say that you saw for the first couple of rounds, I ain't gonna lie to you. I saw it for about a minute. I saw it for about a minute, Andre. And then after that, he looked tired as hell, man. And, and I found myself really, really getting sad because I was scared that Jake was gonna hurt him because you 31 years younger. And I knew fatigue when he walked into the ring. If you remember Andre, he stumbled a little bit walking to the ring, and then I saw that he had on a knee brace on his right knee. And I Was like, oh my God. I got really, really scared for him. At any point in time, consider, even though the ring was long, was big, was, was, was bigger, and they were wearing 14 ounce gloves. And anytime. Did you find yourself scared for Mike Tyson?
- [19:23]
Nate Thompson
Yeah, I was concerned for sure, leading up to the fight. And then, you know, as the fight was taking place, as they walk into the ring, I walked, I was working the desk for Netflix. I walked from around the desk and I'm, I'm facing the ring and I could have the big jumbotron above me and I had the, you know, a direct view to the ring. And I was, man, I was, I was, I was extremely nervous because some of those punches just missed Mike Tyson's chin in those first couple rounds. And that's not something that, that I was gonna be okay with if Jake Paul went in there. And I said this in my interview with Mike Tyson, when I interviewed him, I said, man, if Jake goes in there with an agenda and if something bad happens, Mike, we, meaning my generation, we ain't gonna be, we ain't gonna appreciate that. So I was very concerned. And even though people, most people in the arena expected something else from Mike Tyson, I gotta give Jake Paul credit and I appreciate him taking his foot off the gas. That's not good for marketing or the paying audience. They want to see what they want to see. But I appreciate him taking his foot off the gas, you know, for those last four rounds and not try to press the issue. So.
- [20:31]
Stephen A. Smith
So Trey, you're, you're of the mindset before I brought you on, what I gave him, what my opening monologue saying to folks, is that I saw Jake in the ring, recognizing it wasn't something that was preordained, something that happened before the fight, but what I saw throughout my years of watching boxing, because I saw this with Larry Holmes, with Muhammad Ali, along with various others, I saw Jake looking over at Mike Tyson and it was almost as if he said, I can't do this, I can't do this to him. He is 31 years older than me. I'm really taking advantage. He's not what he used to be. I'm not going to do that to him. And I was actually very proud of Jake for doing that. That's what I saw. Are you confirming that's what you saw?
- [21:17]
Nate Thompson
Yeah, that's what I saw. Exactly what I saw. And people are saying it's scripted. I don't think it was scripted with these guys sat in the room. So, okay, this is how the fight's going to go punch for crunch like, like, like it's a, you know, a movie. But what did happen was Jake recognized what you just mentioned and he made game time decision to choose Mike's well being. The well being of, of how he's going to be received from the general public and more specifically the boxing public over the cheers and everybody saying it was a great event. He had to choose one. And he chose right because it wouldn't have been good. And I, I personally mean if something, something happened to Mike Tyson in that ring, it was going to be real hard for me to hold my composure when I got that mic to close out that event.
- [22:02]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, let me ask you this. When you say our generation, is it go? You know, would not have taken it lightly had he really went in there with an agenda and done harm to Mike Tyson. Be specific. What would have been the reaction had he had, had he done what we, we feared could have happened to Mike Tyson? Explain to the audience what that would have been like for Jake Paul.
- [22:23]
Nate Thompson
Well, Jake is already dealing with backlash just for the fact that he took the fight with Mike Tyson at 58 years old. You gotta realize lifers like myself, individuals who've been in the game since they've been, you know, babies, we grew up in this, this is what we do. This is what we're always gonna do. We always gonna be in a fight game in some way, fashion or form. He would have got a lot of backlash. He would have got a lot of backlash way more than what he's getting right now. People don't like the age gap and they say, man, that's weak. This, that you, come on, bro, you fight Mike at 58 years old. But if Mike Tyson would have got knocked out, man, it would have been an outcry from the younger generation saying, bro, you know, that that's, that's not only weak, but come see me about something.
- [23:03]
Stephen A. Smith
I'm interested. I'm glad you brought that up.
- [23:06]
Nate Thompson
It's already happened.
- [23:07]
Stephen A. Smith
No, go ahead, go ahead.
- [23:08]
Nate Thompson
Way worse than what it is now, no question.
- [23:12]
Stephen A. Smith
I mean, listen, because he shouldn't have gotten a ring with him to begin with. But I do applaud him for not taking advantage of it like he could have and really doing harm. And let's call it what it is, he could have done har. Because of what we saw from Mike Tyson. The 58 year old Mike Tyson, Jake Paul in the ring with a young Mike Tyson couldn't have lasted two rounds as far as I'm concerned, okay? But this Mike Tyson is just a different animal, and we get all of that. Having said that, first of all, props to you, your Art of Ward podcast, because that's when you did talk to Mike Tyson. You've been doing a lot of great work. Keep up that. I'm going to get into that with you in just a few minutes, but I want to get back to this. When you talk about. You would have. He would have some people coming from him. People have asked Andre Ward over the last few days, would you fight Jake Paul? Would you be interested in coming out of retirement and going at this cat? What's your answer to something like that and why?
- [24:01]
Nate Thompson
Yeah, I'm open to a conversation about it. I'm not one of these cats. Like, I don't move out of anger. I don't move out of emotion. I don't do that in my life, and I didn't do that in the ring. I'm very calculated. I'm very thoughtful about every decision I make, which is why a lot of people, like, why did you say his name and just call him out on the broadcast? Well, I know who I'm dealing with. This is a. One of the biggest influencers in the world. This is a youtuber, and I just saw him do it today. Arthur Better Beer, who's a pound for pound, top five pound for pound fighter in the world. He directly called out Jake Paul, and Jake Paul used it in his favor. He said, ah, look at this. I got a pound for pound fighter calling me out. I run the game. I don't really move like that. But what I am doing is telling them, I'm painting a picture like this, brother, I'm 40 years old. In boxing terms, I'm an old man, right? I ain't touched a boxing ring in seven years. If you want to legitimize yourself, which is really rather you admit it or not, that's really what you after. Come see somebody who can give you the credentials you need. Whether you win or lose, you need that in, in under your belt if you're gonna legitimize yourself to this community. Now, you may say, I don't care. You may say, I'm not worried about that. But the truth is, you really are. You want to be embraced by individuals in this game to say, man, I respect Jake Paul. So if you want to do that, I'm open for a conversation, but at the same time, I'm not chasing this dude. I'm not trying to, you know, I'm not getting into that to the pig pen and doing all of that, but. But I am open for a discussion. And since you like fighting older guys, I'm an older guy now and I ain't touched the ring in seven years, so I think it'll be interesting to think of it.
- [25:33]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, shoot, it'll be better than interesting. I'd love to see it personally, but it's for a different reason. It's for a different reason. Dream on. One hand, I'm torn, and I'm going to be very, very, you know, I'm just going to keep it 100. You look at Jake Paul, I really, really appreciate what he's done for the sport of boxing in terms of bringing attention to it and showing the world you don't have to be at the mercy of promoters in order to go and make a bag. Getting in the boxing ring, I don't believe the fighters have messed up boxing. I believe the promoters have messed up boxing because they've restricted and, or rather denied us from seeing the fights we want to see, when we want to see them. And it's done harm to the sport and simultaneously has helped build the UFC because they got somebody in Dana White that makes sure you get the fights that you want to see, when you want to see them, as opposed to waiting five, six, seven years to get it. In that regard, I give Jake Paul all the respect and the love in the world. On the other hand, you fighting basketball players, strikers in the ufc, no name boxers, barely with any kind of reputation whatsoever. But then you talking about how guys like Canelo, you know, they need you, you don't need them, et cetera. And I'm saying to myself, yo, man, at some point in time, you can't be training professionally as a boxer, being trained by professional boxing trainers, and continuously going into the ring against cats who don't fight. I think that's wrong. To that, you say what?
- [27:05]
Nate Thompson
I mean, first off, I agree, and I second what you're saying. I've always given Jake Paul respect for the hustle, the grind, getting it out the mud the way he did, and then bringing his fan base over here. You can't get mad at this man for, you know, selling the tickets that he sells and, and gaining the money and earning the money that he's, that he's earned, right? He's done it the hard way. So that's in one category, compartmentalize, that if you, you know, he is young in the game, so I understand a level of that. Right? Like, you gotta work your way up. I'm not, I'm not knocking all the guys he fought up to this point. But at a certain point, bro, like, like, if you really about this, like. Like. Jake Paul calls himself the face of box. And I can't give you that. You're a good salesman, you're a good marketer, and you. And you sell tickets. Selling tickets and having interest when you fight is one box that you check. If you want to be the face of boxing, it's a few other boxes you ain't checked yet. And one of them boxes is, man, you got to fight somebody and you got to prove yourself. You don't get to sidestep that. You can't be the face of boxing because you. You're a marketing genius. We know you can do that. We respect you on that. Because anytime you press Jake Paul, he brings up the numbers. We see that, man, we salute you on that. But if you want to really call yourself the face of boxing, bro, you got to get into the fire. Ain't no face in boxing. Ain't nobody that's considered the face of boxing ain't been to the fire time and time again. We've yet to see that with J. So, though. So though we respect certain things. I can't give you that. Not gonna happen. You gotta earn.
- [28:31]
Stephen A. Smith
And not only that, earning it. Part of earning it is also showing respect. Like, you can't sit up there and say, I don't need Canelo. Canelo needs me. That's Canelo Alvarez. You understand what I'm trying to say? I mean, that's Canelo Alvarez. Better bf, sitting up there saying, I fight at 175 pounds. You went in the ring. What was Jake like? 228. Better be like this. I'll fight you. Better be. I was like, I'll fight you. He had 175. David, you know, David Benavidez, the Mexican monster, he fighting at 168. He said, I'll fight him. So I'm like, well, wait a minute now. You got cats 50, 60 pounds lighter than you saying, let's go. And to me, that's not. And correct me if you think I'm wrong, I don't think that's about the money. I think that's about them being elite at their craft. Watching this cat, thinking he's something that they don't believe he is. Because as you said, you ain't been into any kind of fire. How dare you disrespect the sport like that? That's what I got from them. What did you get when you see them going At Jake Paul like that.
- [29:34]
Nate Thompson
I understand what I'm dealing with. Jake Paul is a master marketer. His nickname is the problem child. He. He wants you to love, to hate me. That's why people fill out the arenas and that's why people buy the pay per views. It's not everybody don't hate Jake Paul. You got a lot of support, a lot of people pulling for, especially the younger generation. But part of his deal, part of what he markets, part of what he puts out there is he says the most outlandish thing because he's going to get a reaction. It's all calculated. So me personally, even though it's disrespectful, I don't take it personal because I understand who's saying what they saying. I don't take the Canelo Alvarez comment personal. I know he wants Canelo to take the bait because Canelo's already said, I'm not interested in fighting you. So with me, it's not a hard press. I'm not gonna be the guy to say, fight me, Jake Paul. Nah, man, I'm. I'm a hall of famer. I don't have to say that. But it's a soft press. You want to have a conversation, we could talk about it. And if you want to legitimize yourself and stop saying you the face of boxing, but prove you willing to go through the fire like the other faces of boxing did, then we could talk about that, too.
- [30:38]
Stephen A. Smith
When Canelo snaps at a reporter or somebody that asked him about, if I remember when he said somebody asked him about Jake Paul, he said, I don't give a f about Jake Paul. Whatever it was that he said. Do you believe it's justified for a fighter to be completely annoyed at somebody? I'm talking about a world championship fighter to be completely annoyed at somebody coming up to them saying they should fight Jake Paul. I understood where. Where Canelo's coming from. Anybody for that matter, if, like you said, if you've been in a fire, how dare anybody come to me and act like I'm supposed to fight you? And, you know, you're a YouTuber that. That turned the boxing and I'm a champion walking around here and y'all acting like I need him. Do you think they're justified and feeling annoyed when people come at them like that about Jake Paul?
- [31:25]
Nate Thompson
I understand completely where Canelo's coming from. If I was an active fighter, I wouldn't entertain it either. You know, when you. When you in the fire and you still in the game, like that you got, you got real, real issues and beef going on. You got real opponents, like dudes that can really hurt you, that you need to figure out how to beat them and when we gonna fight and all that kind of stuff. I don't have time to entertain the circus. I don't have time for you to have my name even associated with a dude that ain't really a fighter like that. So I understand completely with it. He's an active fighter, man. He, he got way bigger fish to fry in terms of legacy and, and, and he's in a line of fire. He still got danger around the corner, somebody that's always coming for his spot. So he ain't got a lot of time to entertain that kind of stuff. But you know how it goes, Stephen. And people say they're not interested in something until that number get large enough and all of a sudden start making a lot of.
- [32:17]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, when Mike Tyson slapped him, it had over 160 million views on Instagram alone. I think that speaks to the power, I think that speaks to the power of social media. Is that the new frontier of boxing promotion in your estimation?
- [32:35]
Nate Thompson
I think it's been taken over for a long time. You know, obviously you came up in the print era, the younger generation, man, the attention span is very, very low. They're not reading articles anymore, even digital articles, they're not really reading those. They're looking at the headline, look at the quotes, and then they move on. So the quick clips, the quips, the things that are said, the viral videos, that's what time it is, man. And that's why you see so many athletes taking control of the narrative and promoting their own content, getting their own message out there and sending the message that they want the public to, to digest.
- [33:10]
Stephen A. Smith
You were named all the Smoke Fights Chief Content officer in September. I wanted you to tell us about that and, and what's that been like for you? The Art of Ward, as they call it, that airs on all the smokes YouTube channel, by the way. Proud of them brothers. What's. Talk to me about that, what you're doing with them?
- [33:26]
Nate Thompson
Well, man, I've been talking to Matt for me the last, you know, year. BD co founder for the past year. And you know, those brothers, Madden Stack established himself in a powerful, powerful way by, you know, not just having athletes, but anybody, entertainers, politicians now. And they allow the guests to come on, they ask tough questions, but they allow the guests to come on there and control their own narrative. That's one of the things in Media that I, that I, that I really despise and didn't like about media was oftentimes a media member will come to the dance. It could be a fight week. It could be open workout or phone or whatever you want to call it. And they, they think that they have your narrative down pat. They think that they know what you're and how you're going to answer. So what's the best way to change that? You can either complain about that or you can be part of the solution. So Matt and Stack were part of the solution. They dealt with the same thing. And now I'm in the same driver's seat where I have a lot of control, a lot of creative control and I can use my creativity and my relationships to get people on the show that have a message to tell that talks about their struggles, talks about the triumphs, how they were built, how they got to this point. And we ask tough questions. I approach every interview genuinely curious. I think that comes across on the screen. But we allow that guest to control their narrative whether people agree with it or not. And that's why I love the platform that we have at all the smoke fight.
- [34:53]
Stephen A. Smith
How much do you love giving boxing analysis? Because I'm on the record, you know how I feel about you. I bet we've been boys for years. I got so much love for you, so much respect, and I know how brilliant you are, not just as a fighter, but as a person, a highly intelligent person. How much have you enjoyed doing boxing commentary?
- [35:13]
Nate Thompson
That's my baby, you know that? That's my baby. I no longer do it. But when you do boxing commentary, you have the best seat in the house. You're just not taking no punches. So I still got the same feelings, excitement, the goosebumps, all the stuff that I, that I would have, not so much as if I was fighting, but it's as close as I can come to, to, to getting in that ring. And man, I just get to share my heart about what I'm seeing, man. I, I, I obviously have a lot of knowledge, a lot of deep experience in the game, but even more so than that, I want to communicate this in a way that people can digest it and understanding, understand it and hopefully fall in love with the sport. So that's my baby, man. No matter what I do in life, I hope I always have my hand on the game in some kind of respect through the commentating broadcasting aspect, man, because I just absolutely love it, man.
- [36:03]
Stephen A. Smith
Listen, I'm, I shoot, I'm gonna say it plain and Simple. I. I didn't have that big of an interest to go into the fight. Netflix, you know, wanted me to do something, but obviously I'm working for espn, and that was something that couldn't be worked out. The only reason I was interested in it was because I was gonna be sitting next to you calling a fight with you. That's the only reason I was. That's the only reason I was gonna come, because I was looking forward to it, man. So that's how much. That's how much respect and love that I have. I. I have for you. I'mma let you get on out of here. But before I do, of all the interviews that you have done thus far, what's been your most interesting? I know you've talked to Terence Crawford, Anderson Silver, Shakur Stevenson, if I remember correctly. Devin Haney as well. Who's been your most interesting interview?
- [36:42]
Nate Thompson
They've all been amazing for different reasons, but I would say the most interesting was Mike Tyson. I had never. I had only met Mike Tyson, been around him, you know, physically, one time in my life, I think in passing, in Las Vegas. So, you know, everything had been from a distance. And as soon as Mike walked in the room, you know, you can't really prepare for a person's. The vibe that they bring in the room. And Mike has a presence about. You know what I mean? Like, I had to get myself together a little bit. I normally don't have to worry about that. Like, I've been in a lot of places around a lot of people. I had to take a deep breath and get myself together. Mike has a presence about it. Sitting down. He. He's such a conundrum, man. He's such a hybrid. Like, he's. He's deep, he's philosophical. But you see that look in his eyes. He's got that other side, too. You hear it come out, you know, that fighter and that. That, you know, I'm coming to get you. He still got that about it. Mike also seems conflicted with some of the things that. That he struggles with and balances out. He'll tell you, like, brother, I don't know. I'm trying to figure it out. He's also just extremely honest and transparent parent, which I think that's what's caused people, even in the midst of his highs and lows, have caused them to gravitate toward Mike, especially at their older age, because I think everybody sees a little bit of themselves in Mike Tyson. Mike is very open. He's an open book. And I just walked away man, just. I got more than I expected. So the Mike Tyson interview is the top interview right now.
- [38:07]
Stephen A. Smith
You talked about getting more than you expected. What fight do you think is out there now that we all should want to see where we probably get more than we expected? What's the ideal fight? The matchup that you'd like to see.
- [38:19]
Nate Thompson
At this stage in point, man, in the pro game? Like, like boxing, right?
- [38:24]
Stephen A. Smith
Yes, yes, yes.
- [38:26]
Nate Thompson
Oh, man, that's a good one, man. It's. I don't know. It's tough. Stephen A. Because the game is different, man. It's different, you know, and it's. It's a lot of, like, it's a lot of strategy going on with guys not taking fights and why they not taking fights, man, it's hard to call out a fight, man. I, I like the, the Terence Crawford, Canelo Alvarez fight. A lot of people say, you know, so do I, that I'm crazy for thinking that Terence Crawford could win that fight. And my thing is, is like, okay, well, if you don't think that Terence Crawford can outbox Canelo Alvarez, you, you. You may have to check your eyes.
- [39:07]
Stephen A. Smith
You're not watching. Absolutely, absolutely.
- [39:11]
Nate Thompson
And there's a reason why Canelo Alvarez ain't jumping at that fight. He fought Amir Khan, which was, I think, two weight classes lower than him. So the weight thing, at least the weight class, right.
- [39:23]
Stephen A. Smith
And he fought Charlo. And he fought Charlo.
- [39:25]
Nate Thompson
I'm trying to figure out what I'm missing with that. So that, that's a fight. That's a fight that I would really like to see, that that's a dangerous fight for both fighters for different reasons. That's a fight that I would like. And I think that would be an all time great, classic fight that people. The assumption with the general public would be he's 30 pounds heavier than he has. I think it'd be a great classic fight as well as Tank, man. I don't know who I would want to see Tank against right now. Let me ask you the question. What fight would you want?
- [39:55]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, I was going to tell you. I was going to tell you. Crawford versus Charlo for two reasons. Number one, at the junior middleweight spot at 154, right? Cause Crawford's fought Errol Spence at 147. He moving up, right. Even though I spoke to Crawford personally and Canelo's on my list as well because he convinced me, Stephen A. That's a legacy fight. That's a fight that I want badly. Don't underestimate me. I can beat him. Crawford wants that fight bad. Fair enough. But the reason I bring up Charlo is for two reasons. Number one, Charlo, That's a natural weight at 154, and that's not too far off for Terence Crawford. All right? And number two, Charlo is really, really good friends. The Charlo twins are really good friends with Errol Spence. And we saw what Terrence Crawford did to him, and we saw that when Crawford dropped Spence, he went over, and the person he was talking shit to in the crowd was Charlo. Okay? So I'm looking at that, and I'm like, yeah. And I don't hold against Charlo. The smaller Charlotte, I don't hold against him that he lost to Canelo. You know what? Because two weight classes higher, you moved up to 168. You was going up against him. You hit him, and then the man stalked you from the second round on. I mean, that. What are you supposed to do? What are you supposed to do, Dre? If you hit a cat and he keep coming like you ain't like it was nothing. I mean, what you supposed to do? I mean, you got. You got to keep. So I. I'm not gonna fault him for that, but that's not an excuse he would have against Crawford. So him and Crawford going up against one another is something that I would like to see. In terms of Tank, you're absolutely right. The only name that I could come up with is Tiafimo Lopez. And let me throw this by you, too. And I said this to Teofimo Lopez's dad, right in front of Teofimo. This is about two years ago. So I said, sir, respectfully, the manner in which you talk, you're hurting your son's marketability because you got cats that don't want to get in the ring with him because they so annoyed at how much stuff his pops talks that they said, hell with you. Go fight somebody else. Now, Tiafimo is a bad boy. He's a bad brother, you know? And I'd like to see him against Tank Davis. But in the same breath, he sort of tailed off a little bit in terms of popularity because people avoided fighting him. And one reason was his knockout power with that right hand. The other was that the father ignored. Ignored the living hell out of them. And they said, hell with you. We ain't doing nothing for you. And I think that was it. That's a good answer.
- [42:28]
Nate Thompson
I mean, that's a beautiful answer. And I think. But the fight that I'm hearing, that's being talked about right now is Devin Haney Tia. Female Lopez.
- [42:37]
Stephen A. Smith
No, no, I'm very. And by the way, damn, I'm supposed to let you go, but you brought it up. I can't avoid it. I'm so upset with Devin Haney and his pops. I'm gonna tell you why. Correct me. Cause you the champion. And see, I learned my lesson for a little, little slight story. You know where I'm going. We were in Vegas when Canelo fought Triple G, and I was arguing that Triple G won, and you and the twa and the Charlo twiz was like, nah, that's not happening. And then I went like this in the middle of my sentence. I was like, wait a minute. Champion, champion, champion. I need to shut the hell up and just listen to those dudes. You know what I'm saying? Cause I was the only one. I was on. I was on the island low. You remember that? But here's the deal, Devin Haney, and you'll appreciate this, you the champion. You 30. And, oh, why the hell did you do what Tank Davis did with. With. With Garcia? Why didn't you have a weight clause in there? Why didn't you have. You know, you couldn't balloon after the weigh in? What you doing betting him a half a million dollars for every pound he comes in overweight, and then he could come in three pounds overweight. All right? And you just give. You gives up the one and a half million. But he's bigger, he's stronger, he's fresher. And he came in there and he beat you. You the champion when he fought Javante Davis. Javante Davis had a weight clause in there. You know what I said? You had to. You had to capitulate to all of that for the fight. Devin Haney, to me, didn't act like a champion during negotiations, and his pops, to me was supposed to look out for him as well and made sure those stipulations were in there, and they didn't do it, Dre. And that hurt Devin Haney, and we saw him get beat up in a way we never saw before. And I don't know how he recovers from that, bro. That's where I'm at with it. What say you, man?
- [44:20]
Nate Thompson
I. I think he can bounce back. It just won't be easy, though. You know, he's got to take full ownership and be completely honest with himself about what went wrong in that ring. Me, personally, if that's my son, I'm gonna talk to my son and say, hey, baby, we need to we need to beat him, we need to overcome him. He's got a year suspension. He's getting ready, I think a rumor to face many and Saudi.
- [44:43]
Stephen A. Smith
Correct.
- [44:44]
Nate Thompson
So we need to get a tune up fight. But baby, we need to beat him and overcome him and then we can move on to somebody else. I personally don't like the tea female fight. It's very, very dangerous. Tfimo's on the outside looking in right now. He's famished. He wants another opportunity to be in a limelight because he ain't doing the limelight last year and a half, two years. Why would we give him that? As dangerous as he is, my main focus would be to get back with Ryan Garcia. Because you overcome Ryan Garcia. I know people say, oh, he can never beat Ryan. We need to figure out a way because.
- [45:13]
Stephen A. Smith
Hold on.
- [45:14]
Nate Thompson
Psychologically, I'm back.
- [45:17]
Stephen A. Smith
Hold on, Dre. I wasn't saying that Devin Haney should fight Tiafimo. I was saying Javante Davis should fight Tfimo. I'm saying not Devin Haney.
- [45:27]
Nate Thompson
That. That's the rumored fight that's being negotiated right now.
- [45:31]
Stephen A. Smith
Got you, got you.
- [45:32]
Nate Thompson
That's the fight that I'm hearing negotiated. That's my point.
- [45:37]
Stephen A. Smith
The fight is Devin Haney. The fight is Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez.
- [45:40]
Nate Thompson
That's what's being negotiated right now.
- [45:43]
Stephen A. Smith
I, I don't like that for Devin Haney. I think that Devin Haney, I don't like that for Devin Haney at all. I don't think he'd beat Teofimo Lopez. I don't think he'll do it. I think Teofimo will beat him.
- [45:53]
Nate Thompson
It's a dangerous fight. It's a dangerous fight. Why do we go to him? Let's focus on Ryan. My mission is to get back with Ryan. He takes a tune up, I take a tune up. We gonna correct these wrong and what's going. What happened Ain't gonna happen again. That's my mission and my focus. If I'm teammate, right?
- [46:10]
Stephen A. Smith
Very last question. If you fought Jake Paul, what would be your prediction?
- [46:16]
Nate Thompson
Oh, man, I'm do what I normally do, man. I'm a dissect. I'm a, I'm a, I'm a bully. And, and it's gonna be, it ain't gonna be pretty. You know what I mean? And you know it's not gonna be pretty. But at the same time, Jake is a big guy. Jake can hit and he knows enough in that ring where you can't go in there half step. And if I ever fought Jake Paul, I'm gonna prepare. Like, I need to prepare because I got no room for air if he pushed me down. And they call it a knockdown. Oh, my God. Jake knocked Andre there. Oh, my God. He's a Hall of Famer. So it's a very, very dangerous proposition for me because of who I am in the sport and what I've accomplished. I don't have room to slip, but it wouldn't be easy overcoming seven years of inactivity. It wouldn't be easy trying to get the rest off. And it wouldn't be easy fighting a bigger guy like that and being 40 years old. So he's got the advantages, man. It wouldn't be an easy thing.
- [47:09]
Chris Carter
But.
- [47:09]
Nate Thompson
But Stephen A. You can't convince me that I can't figure it out.
- [47:15]
Stephen A. Smith
Please. You can't convince anybody. You can't figure it out. You Andre Ward, bro. You Andre Ward. I bet my money on you all day, every day. Love you, bro. Appreciate you, man. Man, I'll holla at you soon, man. It's good to talk to you.
- [47:26]
Nate Thompson
You take it easy anytime.
- [47:27]
Stephen A. Smith
Always the one and only Andre Ward. Make sure to check out his podcast, the Art of Ward that airs on all the smokes YouTube channel. I'm so proud of Matt Barnes, Stephen Jackson, them giving them their props whiz. Do it all the Smoke. Really proud of them. I love that they brought Andre Ward on this. Coming up, the Bills knock off the Chiefs and the Steelers handle their business against the Ravens. So what's the best team in the afc? We'll get into that next with the one and only Chris Carter right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away.
- [47:56]
Hunter
I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One podcast, one mission. Save our girls. During the searches, we explained explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The more you Listen to your kids, the closer you'll be. So we asked kids, what do you want your parents to hear?
- [49:06]
Stephen A. Smith
I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to. I would just want you to listen to me, me more often and evaluate situations with me and lead me towards success.
- [49:15]
Hunter
Listening is a form of love. Find resources to help you support your kids and their emotional well being@soundedout together.org that's sounditouttogether.org brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal.
- [49:33]
Stephen A. Smith
Welcome back to Stephen H. Smith show right here with Digital Airways, YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. Let's get to the NFL, specifically week 11 where the bills and the Steelers are making the case as the best teams in the afc. Joining me to break it all down, as the hall of Famer, all he did was catch touchdowns, okay? Primarily for the Minnesota Vikings, the one and only Chris Carter's in the house. What's going on, Purple people eater? What's going on, man? I mean, you see I'm being affectionate this one. Is that all right, man? Is that all right? Call your purple people either? Was that how it worked?
- [50:02]
Chris Carter
Hey, listen, bro, okay, we're through. The political season now is it's balling season. College football, pro football, basketball starting to being played. Okay, I know, I know you everywhere, but just get a little attention on my Vikings, all right? We are 8 and 2 right now. Yes.
- [50:21]
Stephen A. Smith
Listen, I ain't giving you no damn attention today. Not the Vikings, man. No, not the Vikings because the Buffalo Bills are the story today. And the Steelers. Let's get to the Buffalo Bills first. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs 30 to 21 at home Sunday. People look at Josh Allen, they're saying he's the best. He's the best in football right now. He's the front runner for league mvp. People think that the Buffalo Bills can come out of the AFC primarily because even though the Kansas City Chiefs hadn't lost the game in 15 tries until this past weekend, they still think that Kansas City is vulnerable right now. What are your thoughts based on what you've seen from the Buffalo Bills?
- [51:01]
Chris Carter
Well, Buffalo and Josh Allen has been sensational against Kansas City in the regular season, not so sensational during the postseason. So this was a great game for Buffalo because Buffalo didn't have the expectations. Let Stefan Diggs go to the Texans and you thought that they might be rebuilding a little bit and you thought maybe Miami might take it. And the jets, they got all the attention. And also the question was Josh Allen is overrated. I think those People now they're looking for a platform to build a dance on because he's anything but overrated against Patrick Mahomes. He is probably the best matchup head to head that Patrick Mahomes has had his whole career playing at home. I'm not surprised that this Buffalo and their defense matched up. Josh Allen won this game a lot like Patrick Mahomes did last year when he had a bunch of injured guys. We talked about the receiving core, but he made enough plays to be able to get it done. That's who Josh Allen was in yesterday's game.
- [52:01]
Stephen A. Smith
How surprised are you that Josh Allen has been as good as he has, considering the fact that there's no Stefon Diggs there anymore, nor Gabe Davis?
- [52:09]
Chris Carter
Well, his running ability and his now his ability to be able to manage the game and not turn the ball over. You know, his only problem before was he was a little careless with the football. Now people thought it was the system that made him compared to him being in a system being built around him. And that's what. And that's what the case in Buffalo is. He is a superstar quarterback, and when you need to be able to put the capo, and he's able to do that a lot like Lamar, a lot like Patrick Mahomes. But that running ability on 4th and 2, that's what makes him unique. Because a regular quarterback is going to run the ball and. And go down. He is going to try to score. And in the game, which he did.
- [52:48]
Stephen A. Smith
See, see, see, see, see.
- [52:49]
Nate Thompson
You. You.
- [52:50]
Stephen A. Smith
You shortchanged me on that answer because I asked you about two wide receivers. And see, here's the problem, Mr. Hall of Famer, because you were a Hall of Famer at that position. And you know that wide receivers religiously get called out for being prima donnas. Not that that was you, of course, certainly not accusing you of that. But the bottom line is this. There's a lot of people out there, cece, who believe Josh Allen is better than through subtraction, that the thing that was ailing him was him trying to force the ball to receivers like Stephon Diggs, who were too demanding for attention and obviously getting the ball. And that was what was serving as an Achilles heel for the Buffalo Bill. So now that they're no longer there and Buffalo is looking the way that it's looking without a guy like a Stefan Diggs, what are we to make of that?
- [53:37]
Chris Carter
Well, as you mature as a quarterback, you're going to be able to do more with less Patrick Mahomes been able to do the same thing in Kansas City once you trade away Tyreek Hill, yes, that's part of the maturity and everything. But you always want a wide receiver, a go to guy. That's why late trade, they go to Amari Cooper, he fits into their system because Keon Coleman is not ready to be that guy full time yet. But when you get into a playoff run and you have to beat someone like Baltimore, someone like Pittsburgh, Spur, someone like the, the, the Chargers and Kansas City, that's when, that's when you gonna need that number one wide receiver to C up. You know, during the regular season you gonna be able to get through that. But when they start to isolate you and they start taking away the things that you do well, that's when you want that wide receiver number one to step up and that's when you need that.
- [54:27]
Stephen A. Smith
But, but don't they have that under Mari Cooper?
- [54:31]
Chris Carter
Amari is a good combination. He is a good complimentary player. Amari Cooper is not going to number one guy bust you for 150 every day. But he is a good in a team concept take the pressure off. If you put him, if you put him in one on one coverage, he will get open. But you double team him, you put a cover 2 on him. Amari Cooper is not still going to dominate the game. He is not a receiver you throw to during a double team like Justin Jefferson, A.J. brown and those receivers, but a good receiver.
- [55:03]
Stephen A. Smith
We, we. Okay, okay. We tried to, we tried to give the Steelers props because they deserve it. Mike Tomlin, to me I think should be a leading candidate for coach of the year. The job that he has done is clearly elite. Oh, you did tell me, you did tell me that. No doubt. But I was getting to a point about Russell Wilson because we were both on that Russell Wilson bandwagon. In terms of Russell Wilson needing to start. My issue is they go up against Baltimore yesterday and yeah, they won, but damn, you couldn't get in the end zone 16 field goals. To me this is a problem. This is why I have to look at a Kansas City. This is why I have to look at a Baltimore even with a loss. This is why I have to look at a Buffalo team as being a bigger threat than the Steelers come playoff time. Am I wrong?
- [55:45]
Chris Carter
Well, I think that you can't just look at this snapshot and how they play against Baltimore because a lot of the games through the history of this matchup are very tight. Both of these organizations, they know the personnel of the organ, other organizations better than any personnel. So that's why you end up getting five or six skill goals in the game, because they know your personnel. Kansas City does know their personnel as well. Some of the other teams, Buffalo doesn't know their personnel as well. Now, there are games that you have to be able to get into 28, potentially 30 points. And I do believe by the time they get to the end of the season, because the season is about momentum, this was critical to win this game. Russell didn't play great, made a huge mistake there in the red zone, but managed the team great defense, got a huge divisional win. Now they are in the driver's seat as far as winning that division. And when they do potentially get into a shootout, are they able to do that? That is the question. You can't get into a shootout when you get in those rivalry games. And I know your personnel just as well as you know your personnel.
- [56:48]
Stephen A. Smith
What do you have to say about Baltimore and the fact that they lost this game yesterday? Lamar Jackson looked. Looked relatively pedestrian. Monkin the, you know, Todd Monkin, the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, for some inexplicable reason, didn't get the ball to Derrick Henry. When you give him the ball, he scored. He runs for more than 90 yards. They're undefeated. When he doesn't, they've lost the games that they've lost. What do you make of what you saw from Baltimore right now and how are you feeling about them in light of the fact that they lost to the Steelers team?
- [57:18]
Chris Carter
Well, Styles make fights. Stephen A. And at the beginning of this fight, we give the ball to Derek Henry. He fumbles the football. So any football coach that I've ever been with, if you fumble the ball early, I mean, they're not going to be as apt to give you the ball as much. This was a very, very physical game. It was a number of freak plays. The Derek Henry, he doesn't fumble. He fumbles. Isaiah likely's trying to get extra yards. He fumbles the interception that turned into a fumble. Interception where the running back had the linebacker beat down the sideline. Lamar puts it on a dime, puts it right where he's got to. It turns out to be a turnover. So it was unfortunate the way the ball balanced for Baltimore, but Baltimore you got to look at in the head to head. They'll be looking forward to the second matchup. They know they match up well against the Steelers, but this dealer's offense is typically a little bit better than they have been the last several years with the quarterback struggles that Pittsburgh's had let's.
- [58:15]
Stephen A. Smith
Transition to the nfc because I know that, listen, you look at Detroit, I think they're above the crowd, their head and shoulders above everybody else. They romped Jacksonville. I'd be surprised once this pot, once this show is posted if Doug Peterson even has his job as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I just can't see that happening. But also I think the other thing for us to look at is I think that it's a two horse race in the NFC between Philadelphia and Detroit with Detroit being at the number one spot. There's other teams like the Green Bays of the world, Minnesotas, I got to put them up there. No doubt. Somebody's got to come out of the NFC West. I get all of that. I guess my question to you is I, I can't get my mind off Chicago because I'm paying attention to this kid, this the number one overall pick, Caleb Williams. And I think he's got skills, I think he's got promise. I just can't believe one mistake after another what their coach, Matt Eva flu has made. I want to know your thoughts about him, some of the things he has said to explain some of the mistakes that he has made and whether or not you're comfortable with the direction that the Chicago Bears are going and particularly with him as their head coach.
- [59:23]
Chris Carter
Right. Chicago's had the same thing, same problem. They've had the last three quarterbacks. Their last three quarterbacks and their general manager and head coach were not in sync. They were not lined up contract wise. And the head coach, quarterback or general manager didn't select those people. So now that's what you have with Caleb Williams. They should have given him a clean slate before the season started because there is no way that you put this rookie under duress, under a coach that had plenty of question marks going into this season with the Chicago Bears. Chicago Bears are plenty talented and you could see that now they've made the quarterback change. He did play improved football, getting rid of the football a lot quicker. I mean he, he getting the ball out of his hands. But when you look at Stephen, when it's under three seconds, he's one of the top five pastures in the league. So now it's okay. How can we repeat that? And more quarterbacks, you know, are ruined in this league than Maine. So be careful, Chicago, you have made a history of ruining quarterbacks. Caleb Williams is legitimate superstar. You have to develop him. Don't ruin him, develop him. And I think they need another coach. The offensive coordinator in Washington, Cliff Kingsbury. I think would fit great in Chicago with the sway. Chicago already runs their defense and you can already see what he's doing with Daniels there in Washington in his first year. What a match he would be in Chicago matched up with Caleb.
- [60:50]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, listen, I got, listen, I got nothing but the respect for the job Cliff Kingsbury has done in Washington with Jaden Daniels. But you're going to really sit here after watching him coach all of those years in Arizona, you understand, knowing that he didn't deserve to get the job to begin with. Now you gonna advocate for him to be a head coach in the NFL after one year in Washington. Really? That's what we're doing.
- [61:08]
Chris Carter
No, absolutely. Because I respect Dan Quinn and when Dan Quinn made him offensive coordinator and you see the way he's running and he's taking care of top, top talented players coming into the draft, can he develop? All right. Tyler Murray is he developer? Oh yeah. He's a top flight quarterback also. So I do believe you'll be better on your second chance, Stephen. These 32 jobs of head coaches, I do believe you can mess it up the first time. Raheem Morris is doing a better job in Atlanta the second time around. So I do believe there are coaches that do deserve a second chance at it. I do believe he's a brilliant offensive mind and he's relatable to the younger players that are in the locker room.
- [61:50]
Stephen A. Smith
Kyler Murray, you brought his name up. MVP candidate, I don't think yet.
- [61:56]
Chris Carter
I do believe he is one of the top stories to the NFL and I don't believe we're getting enough attention on his overall play because people coming into the season, even including myself, question his overall leadership skills, question how much time he spends in the building equipment, his overall dedication. Like is he the real CEO like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, he might be a little bit different and we have to respect that. But the most respect comes from what the results that they're getting on the field. Coming back in several other victories and winning tough games a lot like the Chargers did, used to losing. The Arizona Cardinals are used to losing those tight games. Now they're winning some of those games. So respect to what he's doing.
- [62:37]
Stephen A. Smith
Last question for you, prime time. Deion Sanders, you and I talked about this. You remember when I went on the air and I was talking about he should be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys, how I felt about that? Right. I'm really proud of what I'm seeing him in Colorado do. I know. I saw them spank Utah this weekend. I saw that. I saw Travis Hunter do his thing. I thought Shador Sanders do a thing. I thought I saw Warren Sapp coaching that defensive line. Them, bro, them boys doing their thing. My question to you would be this, strictly this. If you had the ideal landing spot for prime time, Deion Sanders as head coach of an NFL franchise, which franchise would it be and why?
- [63:19]
Chris Carter
Wow.
- [63:22]
Stephen A. Smith
Take your time.
- [63:23]
Chris Carter
Well, this is the thing. I. I don't. I don't think there's a perfect spot for him. I think what Dion doing. Dion is a game changer. When he comes into the room, he changed the temperature. No matter what it is in a typical spot. But Raheem Morris is there. I would say Atlanta. He has such deep roots in the state of Florida. But in pro football, that don't matter.
- [63:48]
Stephen A. Smith
It really don't. Don't matter where you're at.
- [63:50]
Chris Carter
I do think that a place like Jacksonville in the. In the division that they're in, where, you know you can rebuild it and you do have a quarterback. He can't go into the NFL trying to rely on his son being his quarterback. That's what he can't do. That works in college. That does not work in pro football. Jacksonville Jaguars shot Khan, I do believe, with their international thinking, thinking outside the box, bring Dion back to Florida. That's probably the best spot for him in pro football.
- [64:19]
Stephen A. Smith
Why not Dallas?
- [64:23]
Chris Carter
Because we know what's wrong with Dallas, and there's no. There's no one that's going to go and. And fire the boss who happens to be the owner. The only one can probably do that is his wife, and I doubt that she can do it. So that's not going to change. I'm just going to stop wasting time on Dallas trying to think Jerry's going to change. We know Jerry too well. Dion Sanders is not going to be the coach in Dallas Cowboys next year. And if you think Dallas was a show before Dion, if the players were complaining about people coming in, out the locker room before Dion got there, no, I do believe it can work. But I don't believe Jerry's going to change at this stage. It was like Jerry wants all the optics on him. He wants all the credit. And if he hires Dion Sanders, we know he is not getting all the credit.
- [65:11]
Stephen A. Smith
CC the one and only Chris Carter. Appreciate you, bro. Get back to your business. I'll holla at you next week. All right. Thanks for being here.
- [65:18]
Chris Carter
Okay, bro. Appreciate you.
- [65:19]
Stephen A. Smith
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Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code SAS for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code SAS for $20 off download game Time today what time is it? Game Time. All right, let's get to some quick hitters before we go to break. All right, we'll start in women's college basketball, where USC sophomore Juju Watkins continues to make history. Watkins reached 1,000 career points this weekend in the 81 to 50 Trojan victory over Santa Clara. Watkins mark 20 games quicker than Trojan legend Cheryl Miller, and she also did it in two games fewer than former Iowa superstar Caitlyn Clark. Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell y'all something about juju juju Watkins. She's going to the WNBA sooner than later, and when she gets there, she's going to Be a flat out star. This girl has got it. I will remind you in the NCAA tournament as a freshman, I think one game she dropped 27. I think was in the loss when they got eliminated in the NC NCAA tournament. The girl's got skills, she can flat out ball. When I think about Caitlin Clark, I think I look at her passing ability but she's a, she's just a long range sniper. When you look at juju Watkins, she's strong, she's, she's, she's bigger than the average sister. She can ball, you know, she's got a handle, she can get to the basket, she can finish at the basket, she's good in the open court. Plus she has a J. She's special. She's special and I think that once she gets to the WNBA she has star written all over her. So I'm so glad that, that Caitlin Clark is doing her thing in the wnba but that she's going from college basketball because I think this college basketball season we gonna be talking about juju Watkins a whole hell of a lot. Make no mistake about it, I actually got to find a way to get to one of their games. I promised them I would get to one of their games, USC this year. So I got to go see that. Anyway, that's all I have to say about that. Let me get to the NBA, mind you, where I want to give props, I want to take a moment and pause and give props to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs beat the Charlotte hornets last night 128 to 114 bringing their record to 150 to start the season. The Cavs are the fourth team to start 15 and 0 and are tied for the second best start to a season in NBA history. They only trail the 20152016 Golden State warriors who started the season 24 0. And if you remember, Steve Kerr was ill a little bit at that time and, and Luke Walton took over at some point and was coaching the team and what have you. But the warriors were the Warriors. We get that. We didn't see this coming from Cleveland. I get props where it's due. I mean Donovan Mitchell, I love that brother, I believe in him. But Darius Garland had a down year last year. Evan Mobley wasn't healthy. Jared Allen got hurt in the playoff before the playoffs began, couldn't play in the playoffs. I know they're a good team, I just didn't expect them to be 15 0. Here's what I would tell you about Cleveland. We thought that the Easter conference was a three horse race Between Boston, the Knicks, and a healthy Philadelphia 76er squad with Joel Embiid. But hell, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Max, he have all already been hurt this early in the season. Nobody expects Joel Embiid to be healthy. We're praying that Paul George will stay that way. We got to add a fourth team to that, and that's the Cleveland Cavaliers. Okay. I don't think Orlando's quite ready. Let Ben Curl's been hurt once he gets back. I get it because he's a stud and I know it, but I'm not sold on them as of yet. Cleveland, let me tell you what Atkinson has done. First of all, he's done a great job. He's paid attention to detail and stuff like that, and that clearly has elevated at the team where they seem to be a bit happier than they were playing under Bernie Bickerstaff. I get all of that, even though I respect the her, not. Not Bernie Bickerstaff, but his son. But, yeah, all I'm saying to you is this. When I think about what I'm seeing from the Cleveland Cavaliers, I got to give props where props is due. And I just want to check my notes here, because I tell you something right now, I'm looking at Cleveland right now, and you've got the ball in Evan Mobley's hands even more, all right? And I think that's very, very important. And by doing so, what you're going to do is position yourself to really, really make some noise. I mean, I'm looking at them last year under J.B. bickerstaff, and I'm like, okay, he. He knows what he's doing. He can coach. But there was something missing. Kenny Atkinson being near the same Atkinson that was let go by the Brooklyn Nets, the same Atkinson that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn't mind walking out the door. And they should have held on to that man because he kind of knows what he's doing. Now you got a situation, you sit up there and you look at what's transpiring. I'm just at the mindset with Kenny Atkinson as the coach. Look, give him credit where credit is due. And putting the ball in Mobley's hands even more, making him more offensively assertive, has really elevated them. If they could keep this up, who knows what they could do? I still think they're on the outside looking in at the Big Two, which is the Knicks and. And Boston, even though they look better than both right now. But in the best of seven series, I Gotta wonder about that. But Donovan Mitchell is that dude. I've always believed in them. I always wanted him to be in the New York Knicks uniform. But him being in Cleveland with them doing what they're doing, I can't say enough about it. Gotta get props where it's due. Watch out for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Watch out for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Onto the next item. Let me give props to James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers, please. He made history Sunday this week and becoming the NBA second all time leader in three pointers made. Harden made two threes yesterday in the Clippers 160, 105 victory against the Utah Jazz. He's now got two 975 career three pointers to move past Ray Allen's 2,973. Steph Curry is the all time three point king with nearly 3,800 three pointers made from the Golden State Warriors. So good luck in trying to catch him. But that's not to take away from James Harden. James Harden during those years in Houston was one of the most magnificent offensive players we've ever seen. Absolutely, positively unstoppable. One on one. We got to remember that. And in the process of remembering all of that, we got to remember that even though he's older now, maybe having lost a step and what have you, James Harden can still ball. He can still ball, he can still make things happen. Here's where I'm gonna give him the most credit. Damn it. At least he shows up. At least he's on the court ready to play all the damn time. I know people want to point to him forcing his way out of Brooklyn, then forcing his way out of Philadelphia. But for the most part throughout his career, he showed up to play. Which is more than we could say for Kawhi Leonard. Because the Clippers, let's face reality. They're not going too far if all they've got to rely upon is James Harden. Paul George is gone. They should have invested in him and let Kawhi Leonard walk talk. But they didn't do that. And because Steve Ballmer didn't do owner for the Clippers didn't do that, all he's got is James Harden. And at least James Harden shows up to play and he can still score. So just give love where it's due. Up next, I touch On Inside the NBA. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley. They're gonna have a new home for the 2025, 26 NBA season and it's gonna be at ESPN. How exactly do I feel about that? I'll tell you when we come back from break. More to STEPHEN A. SMITH SHOW.
- [74:42]
Nate Thompson
Welcome.
- [74:42]
Stephen A. Smith
Back to STEPHEN A. Smith show. My last topic is good news for NBA fans worldwide. That's because the hit show Inside the NBA with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, the one and only Shaquille O'Neal, and of course, the incomparable Ernie Johnson is no longer a casualty of the new NBA deal. This was supposed to be the last season of Inside the NBA on tnt, but thanks to a settlement between Warner Brothers Discovery and the league office, the show will continue on ESPN, AB and ABC starting in the 2025, 2026 season. For those of you who don't know, Inside the NBA has won 21 sports Emmy awards since it started in 1989. A lot of people been asking me about this, wondering how I feel about it, wondering what it means for my future, et cetera, et cetera. Doesn't affect me at all. I've got first take. I got a lot of other things going on. Secondly, here's the biggest reason why it wouldn't affect me. All of them are my boys. Ernie Johnson is a phenomenal human being, a great host, a great man. I love him to death. Shaquille O'Neal is my brother. Kenny Smith and I go back to my days in junior high school when his brother Vincent Smith used to train me as a basketball player. And then of course, there's the one and only Charles Barkley himself, who I also love dearly. They're friends, and not just to me, but anybody in the NBA community. How can you not love and respect and revere these brothers, brothers. And to see that this show still scheduled to be produced in Atlanta by the TNT folks and what have you airing on ESPN and ABC to know that these brothers are going to stay together and continue to do the NBA for years to come. I can't be more happier for them because I know that it created a lot of chaos once TNT lost its deal to the with the NBA, courtesy of Amazon and others. Of course, major, major props to Commissioner Adam Silver, to President Jimmy Pitaro of ESPN, along with the President of Content, Mr. Burke Magnus, Bob Iger himself, CEO of Walt Disney and everybody else in between. It's the right thing. It's the right thing. And so, you know, when they come to espn, I mean, they'll still be doing their thing again. It's their show based out of Atlanta that will be airing probably twice a week in all likelihood. But the biggest thing is that, you know, hey, for all intended purposes. They're teammates, not just my brothers. So I'm looking forward to watching them continuing to show their greatness as commentators covering the game of basketball. Like I said, Kenny Smith and I go back many, many years. Love him to death. And Shaq and Chuck speak for themselves. It's the best, best thing that could have happened for the NBA in the media industry. I couldn't be happier wishing them nothing but the best. Looking forward to seeing my boys on the channel that I work on, at least at the moment, y'all. Welcome aboard, fellas. Welcome aboard. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Hope y'all enjoyed it. I gotta get on out of here, but I'll be back in a couple of days. Until then, peace of love, everybody. I'll holla.
- [78:01]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [78:32]
Julie Swerbinks
What's up, everyone? Julie Swerbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
- [78:36]
Nate Thompson
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.
- [78:39]
Julie Swerbinks
The Name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [78:42]
Nate Thompson
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
- [78:48]
Julie Swerbinks
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
- [78:51]
Nate Thompson
Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [78:56]
Julie Swerbinks
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.