Full Show: Ryan Clark discusses Aaron Rodgers. Bronny James starring in G-League. Fan Tweets.

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show – December 21, 2024: Detailed Episode Summary

Release Date: December 21, 2024
Episode Title: Full Show: Ryan Clark discusses Aaron Rodgers. Bronny James starring in G-League. Fan Tweets.
Host: Stephen A. Smith
Platform: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Introduction and Acknowledgments [00:35 - 05:00]

Stephen A. Smith kicks off the show with a heartfelt thank you to his growing audience, celebrating nearly one million YouTube subscribers and millions of iHeartRadio downloads. He highlights his new paperback memoir, Straight Shooter, emphasizing its inspirational and motivational themes rooted in his life experiences.

Notable Quote:
"Your boy, yours truly, now in paperback. It is not a sports book. It is a book about my life, inspirational motivation."
— Stephen A. Smith [02:15]

2. Basketball Hall of Fame Nominations: Spotlight on Carmelo Anthony [05:01 - 15:00]

Stephen A. delves into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 first-time nominees. On the women's side, notable names include Sue Bird and Maya Moore, while the men's list features Dwight Howard, Mark Gasol, Amari Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony. Stephen A. provides an in-depth analysis of Carmelo Anthony's career, arguing fervently that despite not having an NBA Finals appearance, Anthony's individual accolades and impact on the game firmly establish him as a Hall of Famer.

Key Points:

• Carmelo Anthony’s Achievements:
  10-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA player, NBA scoring champion, and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

• Contract Decisions:
  Stephen A. contends that Carmelo's five-year guaranteed contract with the Denver Nuggets prevented him from joining LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami, which could have led to multiple championships.

Notable Quotes:
"There is no debating that Carmelo Anthony is a basketball Hall of Famer."
— Stephen A. Smith [10:45]

"Carmelo Anthony was a hell of a player. A hell of an offensive juggernaut."
— Stephen A. Smith [12:30]

3. NBA Television Ratings Decline and Magic Johnson’s Perspective [15:01 - 23:20]

The conversation shifts to the declining television ratings for the NBA. While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attributes the decline to a decrease in cable subscribers, Stephen A. introduces Magic Johnson’s alternative viewpoint: the softening of player rivalries and increased camaraderie among athletes have diluted the on-court antagonism that once fueled viewer interest.

Key Points:

• Magic Johnson’s Critique:
  Johnson claims, “They don't hate each other. I hated Larry and every Celtic. The Celtics and Lakers hated each other. It made for great TV.”
  He emphasizes the need for rekindling competitive fervor and reducing instances of load management to enhance the product.

• Stephen A.'s Rebuttal:
  He defends the modern NBA’s evolution, citing improvements in player conduct and the league's efforts to maintain a family-friendly image.

Notable Quotes:
"Everybody likes each other, won't go at each other really hard. It's got to get back to that."
— Magic Johnson [19:05]

"If we gonna talk about Carmelo Anthony and give the full picture... there ain't the criteria for being a Hall of Famer."
— Stephen A. Smith [17:45]

4. Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors Performance Analysis [23:21 - 30:00]

Stephen A. reviews the Memphis Grizzlies' dominant performance against the Golden State Warriors, highlighting the Warriors' poor outing where key players Draymond Green and Steph Curry failed to score, marking an unprecedented low in Curry's 16-year career.

Key Points:

• Grizzlies’ Momentum:
  Currently holding the number two seed in the West with 11 wins in the last 13 games.

• Steph Curry’s Struggles:
  Curry went 0-for-7 from the field, the worst combined performance of his career.

• Ja Morant’s Impact:
  Stephen A. praises Ja Morant's leadership and energy, positioning him as a potential MVP candidate and a transformative force for the Grizzlies.

Notable Quotes:
"What a difference Ja Morant makes. Memphis with John Morant on a mission... Look out, y'all."
— Stephen A. Smith [25:50]

5. Guest Segment: Ryan Clark Discusses Aaron Rodgers Controversy [30:01 - 52:00]

Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark joins Stephen A. to discuss the tension between him and Aaron Rodgers. Clark addresses Rodgers' critical comments about him, elaborating on the underlying issues related to Rodgers' performance and leadership.

Key Points:

• Rodgers’ Criticism:
  Aaron Rodgers reportedly referred to Ryan Clark as a “fraud,” prompting Clark to respond professionally and factually.

• Clark’s Defense:
  "When we talked about that on First Take... he used the vaccination status to discredit my comments, which I found hypocritical."
  Clark emphasizes his commitment to professional integrity and the importance of factual responses over personal attacks.

• Impact on Media and Sports Culture:
  The discussion touches on how athletes' heightened sensitivity and use of social media influence sports discourse, with Clark expressing concern over authenticity and honesty in athlete voices.

Notable Quotes:
"He can respond to that. But you are a fraud if you're sitting on ESPN being paid by Pat McAfee..."
— Ryan Clark [33:13]

"Carmelo Anthony was a hell of a player. A hell of an offensive juggernaut."
— Stephen A. Smith [12:30]

"These are the things we ask for by working hard, right? You want your voice to matter."
— Ryan Clark [46:04]

6. Bronny James in the G-League and Fan Interaction [52:01 - 65:20]

Stephen A. shifts focus to the rising star Bronny James in the G-League. Highlighting his impressive performances, including a 16-point game with supportive stats, Stephen A. expresses pride in Bronny's development and potential.

Key Points:

• Bronny’s Performance:
  16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in a recent game, following a 30-point performance the previous week.

• Stephen A.’s Praise:
  He underscores Bronny's growing confidence and playmaking abilities, forecasting a promising future in basketball.

• Lighthearted Segment:
  The show features playful banter between Ryan Clark and his nephew Josh, adding a humorous and festive touch to the episode.

Notable Quotes:
"He's gonna earn his stripes. He keeps playing this way, and my knuckleheaded nephew who interrupted my show earlier, all right, he's sitting right here with me now."
— Stephen A. Smith [60:15]

7. Fan Tweets and Interactive Banter [65:21 - End]

In a festive closure, Stephen A. incorporates fan tweets into the show, showcasing interactions and humorous exchanges with Josh, Ryan Clark’s nephew. This segment blends light humor with holiday spirit, emphasizing the show's engaging and inclusive atmosphere.

Key Points:

• Fan Engagement:
  Stephen A. reads and reacts to various fan-submitted tweets, maintaining an interactive dialogue with his audience.

• Holiday Cheer:
  The episode concludes with Christmas-themed interactions, giveaways, and festive discussions about the G-League’s future, particularly focusing on Bronny James.

Notable Quote:
"In everything I do, I'm in it to win it. Everyone likes to win."
— Stephen A. Smith [67:00]

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Conclusion

This episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show offers a comprehensive exploration of significant sports narratives, from Carmelo Anthony’s Hall of Fame prospects to the evolving dynamics of NBA viewership. The guest segment with Ryan Clark provides an intimate look into the complexities of athlete-media relationships, while the spotlight on Bronny James and engaging fan interactions ensure a well-rounded and entertaining listen. Stephen A. Smith adeptly balances serious analysis with lighthearted moments, delivering a show that is both informative and enjoyable for its diverse audience.

Final Notable Quote:
"What are you gonna do about it? Remember when Shaq was playing for the Lakers..."
— Stephen A. Smith [22:50]

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Listeners who haven’t tuned in will find this episode rich with insightful discussions, passionate debates, and engaging interactions, encapsulating the essence of The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Transcript

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, Geico's motorcycle expertise.

[Ryan Clark]

Gives me the coverage I need like 24.

[Hunter]

Seven claims, I'm on cloud nine.

[Ryan Clark]

Clouds are wholly unable to support the weight of an adult human. What's happening? Furthermore, clouds are not numbered. Even if you procured a jetpack and searched, you'd find no cloud number nine. However, at that altitude, you'd likely befriend a flock of migrating snow geese. Geese who'd encourage you to leave your 24.7geico motorcycle claims insurance behind as they would take you in and even share their dinner of crickets and clovers with you. Ew. GEICO assumes no liability for any indigestion that may occur from a clover cricket dinner. GEICO expertise for your motorcyc oh, there's a lot to talk about today. Magic Johnson had something to say. I don't disagree with that, brother. Carmelo Anthony hall of Fame there's people debating that I don't understand what the hell is going on. Ryan Clark speaks out against Aaron Rodgers. More emphatically, more lucidly. All of those things. And of course, Bronny James is making noise. Damn, I like today's show. Stephen A. Smith show in the house. Let's roll. Ho ho ho. Happy holidays, everybody, and welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith show. Coming at you over the digital airwaves of YouTube and and of course, iHeartRadio. As always, I'd like to take a moment to thank and pay homage to my subscribers and followers. We now eclipsed over 988,000, rapidly approaching a million on YouTube alone. That doesn't even count the millions of downloads we received over iheartradio over the last few months. Can't thank y'all for the love and support. Enough. Keep it coming. And I'mma keep on coming and continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell to get notified of all of our new content and you too shall consider yourself the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, I need you know there's a Christmas gift out there you can get right. There's a Christmas gift out there you can get for anybody. It's the New York Times bestseller Straight Shooter, a memoir of second chances and first takes written by your boy, yours truly, now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that's straightshooterbook.com. it is not a sports book. It is a book about my life, inspirational motivation. These are the things that people tell me it's a New York Times bestseller for a reason. That's the creme de la creme when you're an author. Okay? New York Times bestseller. They can never take that away from me. They can never take that away from me. Anyway, I got a lot of stuff to get into today. As you can see, the whole Christmas background. The producers put it all together. Little fireplace and all of this other stuff. It's looking pretty damn good here. It ain't cheap, damn it. Okay, So I hope you like it. Cause I spent some money in order to make that kind of stuff happen. All right. Just for your visual pleasure. I want you to know it's just another piece of evidence that shows how much I think about you, not just moi. Let me get into a couple of things, a few things actually with today's show. Got my man Ryan Clark from ESPN NFL Live. Monday Night Football, Monday Night Countdown to be specific. Get up first, Take the list, goes on and on. The host of the Pivot podcast as well. Doing some big things, but got into some big things with Aaron Rodgers earlier this week. Ryan Clark will be here to discuss in detail even further some of the things he expressed, some of the things he's feeling, some of the things he's going to be thinking about moving forward. Can't wait to talk to him about that. But that's not where I'm going to get started today. I'm going to get started with basketball. Yesterday, the Naismith Basketball hall of Fame released its list of first time nominees for the class of 2025. On the woman's side, the list includes Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Shamiqua Holdzclaw. As for the men, the first time nominees are Dwight Howard, Mark Gasol, Amari Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. Next year's class also has a repeat nominee in the 2008 Redeemed team that also included Carmelo, meaning he could go in twice next year. Dwight Howard belongs in the hall of Fame. He's a multiple time defensive player of the year, went to the NBA Finals, won A championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. Lost the championship to the finals, to the Lakers with Orlando, Kobe, obviously his first championship without Shaquille O'Neal. So we can't forget that Dwight Howard belongs in there. Amar'e Stoudemire was a stud. You gotta look at his injury history, longevity, but his game, certainly hall of Fame caliber. Okay. Gotta look at it from that standpoint, Marcus. All international player. Gotta give him love. Can't dismiss that. So I get all of these things, but I want to focus on Carmelo Anthony and I want to tell y'all something. Whether Carmelo Anthony is willing to admit it or not, the greatest mistake he ever made was signing that five year contract with the Denver Nuggets. You see, when he was with The Denver Nuggets, LeBron James, D. Wade and those brothers signed a contract in 2007 that gave them an opt out in 2010. Carmelo Anthony was wanted the five years guarantee because as he explained at the time, I'm from Baltimore, shoot. I ain't passing up that kind of guaranteed dollars. Anything could happen. I could get injured, et cetera, et cetera. And that's what harmed him. Understand, ladies and gentlemen, that if Carmelo Anthony had been able to opt out of his deal in 2010, Carmelo Anthony would have joined LeBron James and D. Wade in Miami and he would have been a two time champion, I assure you of that. But because he didn't do that, that belonged to Chris Bosh, who obviously is in the hall of Fame and deservedly so, I might add. I'm just bringing up that point to make sure I break down to you the significance of Carmelo Anthony. This is a man that was a number three overall pick in 2003. The same class that LeBron James went number one, D. Wade went number five, Bosh went number four in that draft. And I know people look at Carmelo Anthony, he's a 10 time All Star. You see the resume right there? Final Four MVP in 2003. NCAA champion at the only championship the Orangeman in Syracuse have ever achieved. A three time Olympic gold medalist, one time bronze medalist, six time All NBA player, 10 time NBA All Star, NBA scoring champion. Averaging 28.7 a game in 2012, 2013. Member of the NBA 75th anniversary team, 10th on the NBA's all time scoring list. Let me say this to Kyan, his son Kyan Anthony, who's going to Syracuse. Your father's special. Your father's a Hall of Famer. No matter what your father was as a player, he's an even better person. He's a Hall of Fame man. That's how much love I have for Carmelo Anthony. But I'm going to say this as well. There is no debating that Carmelo Anthony is a basketball hall of Famer. If it were just the NBA, it would be a challenge because he's never played in an NBA Finals. Never went to an NBA Finals. When he was in Denver, it was Shaq and Kobe or Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili and Tony park and those boys standing in his way. When he went to New York, it was LeBron and the Miami Heat standing in their way even though they lost to the Indiana Pacers. I get all of that. But Carmelo Anthony was a hell of a player. A hell of a offensive juggernaut. No doubt about an unstoppable. Unstoppable. But he didn't go to the Finals. And I understand that argument that could be made against him. Here's where it gets tricky. Chris Webber didn't win a championship. Dominique Wilkins didn't win a championship. Chris Mullen didn't win a championship. John Stockton didn't win a championship. Even though he was in a couple NBA Finals. Him and Karl Malone, different level, I get that. Patrick Ewan didn't win the championship. Charles Barkley didn't win a championship. I'm just saying there's plenty of players throughout NBA history that haven't won a championship. Now all of those players I mentioned got to an NBA Finals, okay? I think with the exception of Chris Webb if I remember correctly. But all I'm trying to say to you is that ain't the criteria for being a Hall of Famer. It was your game, your numbers, your significance, your cachet. What you are when you were on the basketball court. And again that's just the NBA. There is no debating Carmelo Anthony as a college basketball player. The only man in the history of Jim Boeheim era in Syracuse to deliver a national championship. They had Dwayne Pearl Washington, the greatest show in the history of college basketball. The Pearl. Go look it up. They had Sherman Douglas later on they had Derrick Coleman later on they had Billy Owens later on. And Carmelo Anthony is the one that brought a national championship to that program. He's a three time Olympic gold medalist. We all know what he brings to the table in that regard. And he's a prolific scorer and he was box office. And here's another thing. If we gonna talk about Carmelo Anthony and give the full picture, let's say this. You are listening to someone and watching someone right now who loves and reveres the great Joe Dumas, the two time champion in the backcourt, Isaiah Thomas with the bad boy Detroit Pistons, the guy that ultimately was president of basketball operations that went to like six straight conference finals, back to back NBA championship appearances, won a championship and would have won another if somebody had remembered to pick up Robert Horry in the left corner when they went up against San Antonio the second go round. So let's understand that I bring up the Detroit Pistons for this reason. I know they had Tayshaun Prince with Rip Hamilton, with Chauncey Billups, Whit, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace. Had you drafted Carmelo Anthony? If Carmelo Anthony was on the Detroit Pistons, ladies and gentlemen, he has at least one title, if not two. So we got to look at it from that standpoint as well. Is he LeBron James? No, but Carmelo Anthony was a caliber in terms of an offensive talent the likes of a D. Wade, a Chris Bosh. I'm just saying y'all is Carmelo Anthony and I'm telling you, he's a Hall of Famer. I just wish that he had gone to Miami. I still cry about that. If that brother could have opt out of his contract and joined D. Wade and LeBron in Miami instead of Bosh, they would have went to four NBA finals just like they did. But I think they had won three titles, not two. They wouldn't have lost to Dallas, I could promise you that. Not with Melo on that damn court. They would have lost to Dallas. LeBron, you hesitant to shoot? Give me the rock. That's what Melody. Give me the. You a little nervous right now? Getting guarded in the post by J.J. barega and Jason Terry. Oh, hell no. Give me the rock. They didn't want a title. They didn't want a title. Let me let you in on a little secret. You don't have to sit at home and watch your favorite football team from your couch or try to zoom in to see that replay from your cell phone. There's nothing like creating memories with family and friends as you're surrounded by the excitement and cheering of fans as they jump to their feet in the stadium. You can't get that type of energy from your couch. And by the way, they have big screens at the game too. Why not get in on the live action? And you can with Game Time. Game Time has a new feature called gametime Picks that makes getting your tickets to see your favorite team even easier. Gametime Picks saves you time by searching through thousands of tickets to only show you incredible deals on great seats. You can even see the view of your seat from your phone before you buy. There are so many ways to save and yes, even on those last minute purchases, the all in pricing shows your total cost up front and bam. You buy your tickets in seconds with just two taps. They even have last minute deals on tickets right up to the start of the event and even an hour after it starts. And gametime Picks is not just for sporting events, they make getting tickets for all events even easier. GameTime Picks has exclusive sponsored deals for concerts, comedy, theater and more. And because gametime is all about their fans, they're committed to ensuring fans have a great ticket buying experience when purchasing tickets from them. They've got your back with gametime ticket coverage and their flexible customer service policy. It includes lowest price guarantee, event cancellation protection, 24 hour returns guarantee, job loss assurance, and on time ticket delivery. Buy with confidence knowing your purchase is covered by gametime ticket coverage. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime Picks. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use the code SAS for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply again, create an account and redeem Code sas for for $20 off download game time Today what time is it? It's game time. Let me move on to the next subject. Staying in the lead by the way, let's talk about sports media, specifically television ratings for the National Basketball Association. Viewership on television is down for the league and there are many factors that are believed to contribute to that. Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledges the decline in viewership, but he doesn't blame the product on the court. Silva notes the decline in cable subscribers, which would naturally account for the drop in viewership. However, NBA legend and hall of Famer Magic Johnson has another take. He blames the players. Listen to this quote. In fact, here's how Magic explained why today's NBA players are to blame for the ratings decline. Quote they don't hate each other. I hated Larry and every Celtic. The Celtics and Lakers hated each other. It made for great TV and people tuning in. Now everybody's shaking each other's hands. Everybody likes each other, won't go at each other really hard. It's got to get back to that. And there's a reason why the numbers are going down and these guys better wake up and say hey man, we gotta change this. And also load management. The guys gotta play. End quote. Listen to me when I say what I have to say. I'm not trying to cast dispersions. You folks on YouTube and social media got to get a bit more creative. Everything is about hating, hate, hating. Why telling the facts is hating. When LeBron James departed from Miami, went back to Cleveland and then came back to play against D. Wade in the Miami Heat, when Pat Riley had to go in the back because he wanted to throw up because of how much LeBron and D. Wade were hugging each other on the court during the game and stuff like that. You don't remember that. You don't remember that. You don't see all this hugging and Kumbaya in going on. You don't remember all of that. You don't see players sitting up there and following LeBron James lead. Remember when LeBron used to play in Cleveland? They used to pose and take pictures and feint and taking pictures and all of this other stuff before they got their ass kicked and bounced out of the playoffs by Boston or somebody. You don't remember all of that. Why did LeBron James go to Miami? It's one thing to leave Cleveland, but why go to Miami? Remember how Boston was giving it to him? Remember how Paul Pierce was chirping? Remember how KG was. Damn right. Yeah. Remember how Ray Allen ultimately turned KG and others into enemies until years later because he went to the enemy? Remember how KG came right on this show and broke down what it was like for him to go to anybody? Go to anybody but Miami? They were our enemies. This is what happened. You got to remember just recently, there were enemies. Boston was enemies with Miami, not just the Lakers. LeBron comes along and you get along with everybody. Remember how we used to sit up there and talk about how Jordan was an assassin and LeBron was such a nice guy and such a nicer human being and getting along? You know what happened to that, ladies and gentlemen? Branding. That's what happened happened. Everybody saw a way to cultivate relationships with one another, ultimately doing business with one another or advising one another on how to do business and get more money and all of this other stuff? And as a result, everybody was about brand protection. But they ain't the only ones. The NBA is guilty of this, too, because you took the physicality out of the game to a lesser degree. The NBA saw in the 90s that the game wasn't as attractive as it used to be. Started implementing rules and regulations to take out some of that physicality. And as a result, hate dissipates, too. Because if somebody ain't getting away with knocking you upside the damn head or they know doing so could get themselves ejected, suspended, fined, et cetera, it's going to be less of that. Less of that leads to more cordiality. More cordiality leads to you getting along better. You getting along better means you ain't enemies the way that you used to be. And as a result, everybody ends up singing Kumbaya to one another. And sometimes I watch the NBA and wonder if it was the latest episode of General Hospital or you're young and a restless. That's what we talking about. When Magic Johnson talk about that hatred. Him and Isaiah were boys. You see how he treated Isaiah when Isaiah came down the middle in the NBA finals. You know why he did that? You know why he did that? Because it was a championship on the line. Ain't your damn friend right now. We can handle that shit later. Right now I'm trying to bust your ass and knock you out of here. That's what he's saying. And then ultimately Isaiah tried to come back at him. And there was no talking, it was no fraternizing, it was no dentist. I'm trying to beat you. Why you think everybody loves Giannis in this day and age? Because he don't work with nobody in off season. They're all his enemy. He's coming to destroy them. That's what we love to see. That doesn't happen because everybody mingling with one another, it ain't just because of the money they are getting. It's because the money they stand to get. By talking and vibing with one another, exchanging business ideas, even doing business together and their attitude. As long as we give you that 48 minutes on the court, we good. And in the end we don't really care because we got our paper. But it's hurt the game. And Magic Johnson is qualified to say that. See if it's Stephen A. Bump. Stephen A. Who the hell is he? Hell with him, his ass can't play anyway. Well, Magic's a five time champion and the greatest point guard in the history of basketball. Who by the way, business acumen, networking ability, willingness to co mingle and get along and cultivate and network and create relationships has turned him damn near into a billionaire. And he spearheaded movements that were ultimately followed by Michael Jordan himself and to this day and age, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and people like that. And Shaq, let's not forget that. Remember when Shaq was playing for the Lakers and he said, I'm not worried about the Sacramento Queens, he didn't give a damn. He was the diesel. What you gonna do about it? Remember when Charles Barkley round mounted rebound, just running over people throwing elbows and all of this stuff. We don't see too much of that these days. That's what Magic is talking about. It's not applying to all. It's not applying to some, but it's applying enough. Who have the power to influence the game in a far more competitively fervorish way. And they don't do it. That's who Magic Johnson's talking about. Look it up. The evidence is all there. You know, you know which plays I'm talking about, you know. Lastly, second to last, because I got a couple of things to bring up. The Memphis Grizzlies put on the show against the Golden State warriors at home Thursday night, beating them 144, 93. That's 51 points, y'all. And it was bad for the Warriors. So bad that Draymond Green and Steph Curry each failed to make a field goal. It's the first time that both players failed to score in a game as teammates, meaning a field goal. Curry, who finished with just two point shot, 0 of 7 from the field in 24 minutes. It's the most combined field goal attempts and minutes without a make in Steph Curry's 16 year career. As for the Grizzlies, they've now won 11 of the last 13 and currently hold the number two seed in the West. Ladies and gentlemen, I only got something simple to say about this. I don't have anything to say about golden state losing about 51 points because you know what? They were down by 40 in the first half against Cleveland a few weeks ago. They're a good team, but they're not great. And they're capable of getting their ass kicked on any given night. Fair enough. The story here is the Memphis Grizzlies. What a difference John Morant makes. Now, he didn't have a big game last night because he didn't have to. But this brother has been all world. And as I told y'all before the season began, this brother was going to be a league MVP candidate before this season is said and done. Because he's on a mission and he is a superstar in this game. Ja Morant is coming. Do you see the infusion of energy and passion that he's given the Memphis Grizzlies? Do you see the way they're looking now compared to how they looked last year? Make no mistake, the Memphis Grizzlies are a huge threat. They are a huge threat. Pay attention, okc. Pay attention. John Morant and the Grizzlies are coming. I'm still looking at Oklahoma City. I believe in these brothers, but Memphis with John Morant on a mission after going through some of his troubles last season. Look out, y'all. Look out. Last item I want to get into is Bronny James. Now, I was planning on talking about Bronny James, you know, because I usually have better things to do with my time. But at the same breath, it's like, you know, I can't ignore what I'm seeing from this brother. What are you doing here?

[Josh]

Somebody called Bronny James. You know, that's a cue for me. That's a cue for me.

[Ryan Clark]

I'm taping my show.

[Josh]

Oh, the camera's rolling.

[Ryan Clark]

I'll talk about Johnny Bronny James in a few minutes. I gotta get ready to interview Ryan Clark before I was so rudely interrupted. I was gonna get into Bronnie James before I was so rudely interrupted. I'll be back with him, this knuckleheaded nephew of mines later. All right, Ryan Clark's up next, right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away. Okay, everybody, you know what time it is. It's time for Stephen A. Sports Picks. Man, I love this time of year. Every time I turn on the tv, there's a game happening. Football, basketball, hockey, it's endless. And with all those games going on, we want you to cash in on the big time action, okay? And that's why I've teamed up with Prize Picks, the largest fantasy sports platform in all the land with over 3 million members. With prize picks, you simply choose 2, 3, or even up to 6 of your favorite players and then choose more or less in their projected stats for the game or contest. And now with the Prize Picks live squares option, you can even place mid game picks on full game projections. That's right. You can now pick a player's game projection after their game has started. Just look for a red light indicator on the squares in the app during a live game. And if you sign up now with code SAS, Prospects will give you $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive a $50 bonus, y'all. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a $5 lineup on prospects and you'll get $50 instantly. Now, let's see my winning picks. Today, I'll be making picks for this weekend's boxing match between Tyson and Gypsy King Fury against Al Alexander Usyk with the wba, the WBC and WBO heavyweight belts on the line. Remember when these two met this year in May, Usyk handed Fury his first ever loss. So first up, we got Tyson Fury. More or less than 150.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.

[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 podcasts.

[Ryan Clark]

I have Total punches landed. Hmm. Tyson Fury is going to have to keep this cat off of him. Usyk's a fabulous boxer, but Tyson Fury's got the reach, okay. He's got boxing skills and on top of it all, he's salty from not winning the last fight. I'm going to go with more on this. I think he's going to all of them going to be power punches, ladies and gentlemen. I think he's going to use his jab a lot too, but ultimately I think there's going to be one of those fights where there's going to be a lot of punches thrown, all right? I don't think they'll be out there shadow boxing and looking at one another and just staring each other down. Finally, the champ, Alexander Usyk. More or less than 160 and a half total punches landed. This brother can box. He can box. And I definitely think he's going to land more than 160 and a half total punches because Tyson Fury is going to be there to be hit. Not solidly because he's a good boxer and he's got good head moving and what have you. But Usyk is going to box him and he's going to attack him and he's going to put hands on him. Okay? I think it's going to be more in both of these situations. To me, this fight ultimately comes down to whether or not Tyson Fury is going to be in tip top shape. If he's in tip top shape and he takes this and treats this with the seriousness that it deserves, I think that Tyson Fury could probably win this fight by decision. I don't think he's going to knock Usyk out, but nevertheless, he's got to be in tip top shape because Usyk's going to be ready. He can fight, he can box, he's not scared, he can punch. Okay? And he looks like the smaller man. But listen, he gets in there, got in there with Anthony, Joshua, Gabe, and l gave Tyson Fury, and now the brother can fight. The brother can fight. So I'm going to go with more on both of these. We'll see what happens with the outcome. That's it for prize picks. All right, you saw what I said to you. I hope Tyson Fury doesn't let us down. We like it when he gives us more, especially when his opponent does the same. That makes for a thrilling fight. We like that at prospects. Welcome back to Stephen A. Smith Show. My next guest made headlines recently as he and jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers have exchanged critical takes on each other this past week. He's a Super bowl champion, he's a TV analyst, a host of the award winning the Pivot Podcast, and he's my brother. The one and only Ryan Clark is in the house right here. What's going on? Big time. How you doing, man? How's everything?

[Caleb]

What's up, my guy? Listen, I'm out here in South Bend, man, just getting ready for the college playoff game. But you know when your brother holla at you and need to get you on the show, you show up.

[Ryan Clark]

Damn right. I appreciate that because I would have got on you if you avoided me. Because I understand. Because it's snowing out there, Notre Dame's getting ready to go against Indiana. Your son Jordan plays for Notre Dame. We'll get into that in just a second. But before I do any of that, I want to start off by reminding the audience why I asked you to come on here today. Earlier this week on the Pat McAfee show, the one and only Aaron Rodgers had this to say, referring to you. Listen up. Say whatever the fuck you want about me. I don't care. But just before you do it, whether you state your name, your accolades, pronouns, whatever it is, just state your vax status so that anything you say afterwards gets put in the right light. Just get it out there. Because then when you say things about me, people can at least be like, oh, you are captured by the multi billion dollar propaganda and you're still upset about it. Okay, this will help things. Yeah, this is good. This will settle it all. Don I appreciate that. And hey, you know what I mean? Just put that in the, Just so everybody knows where you're coming from. You gave a four minute response over social media. I played half of that here the other day. As we sit here today reflecting on what you said about Aaron Rodgers, talk about why you felt the need to respond to what he had to say and what kind of message you wanted to send everybody.

[Caleb]

Yeah, I think the first thing. STEPHEN A. And you know it like I do. When we talked about that on First Take that day, it was really the first time I'd actually heard what he said on Pat McAfee. And when you mentioned our network ESPN, while being on our network ESPN and many of my colleagues that are former players, then I feel like I have the right to respond. And you know, he addressed me during that PSA on Pat McAfee. He never used my name, but he mentioned obviously the lapel pin with my initials. And I think the part that rubbed me in a way where I felt like I had to respond was the whole vaccination thing, because I feel like he uses that to get those people who are of like mind when it comes to whether it's vaccination, partisanship, whatever that is, to try to ignore the facts. The, the facts were that what he said was hypocritical. The facts were that he has an issue with people talking about his play in a negative way when that's what the film is telling us. And you know it like I know it. STEPHEN A. I've said a million times to you on your show, I think he's the best quarterback I've ever played against. But that doesn't in any way negate what we're seeing from him now. And then the, the arrogance, the smugness, the entitlement he displays as a person when it comes to people who object or people who see things differently than him. I mean, I'm just tired of it and I'm tired of people allowing him to say whatever the hell he wants to say, whenever the hell he want say it without in any way Pushing back. And so if you can come for me and my colleagues, I can respond. And I have no issue standing 10 toes down on whatever I say.

[Ryan Clark]

It was hard for me to, you know, push back on his right to clap at you. RC not about his game, but when we were on First Take that day, you know, you're very, you're a highly intelligent brother. You're very selective with your words. You know exactly what, what you're saying, you know, and you mean what the hell you say. And you called him a fraud. And, and I want you to explain, expound on why did you feel the need to go to that length? And based on you saying that, do you feel like that gave him the right to respond to you the way that he did?

[Caleb]

1 First off, he absolutely has a right to respond to me in any way that he wants to. He's a grown man. Stephen A. And you know, like, if you feel some type of way, like you get to say it the same way I get to respond to him now. What's different about us is the things that I say about him will be viewed from a professional perspective. Right. I am an NFL analyst and so in responding to Aaron Rodgers, I need to be able to respond with facts. I need to be able to respond with things that are true. I can't just come out and insult his fashion. I can't just come out and say things that make zero sense, like, state your vaccination status. Right? I can't. I don't get to do that. I have to be factual. I have to be to the point. I have to be clear. And so, yeah, like, if I call him a fraud, he can respond to that. But you are a fraud if you're sitting on ESPN being paid by Pat McAfee who later admitted that he pays him because of what having Aaron Rodgers on his show does for him. I was in no way, I in no way got a problem with that. But to call out former players while on a former player show, yes, that makes you a fraud to me. To secondly, come back and say that you got to state your vaccination status because your vaccination status tells me what perspective and point of view I view Aaron Rodgers from. Like, that's bull crap. Like it's absolutely, you know, like that's not why I feel any way about him. Kirk Cousins, who was extremely honest about his vaccination status and said that he would not receive the vaccine, is one of the more well liked players in all the NFL is a player that we all know and Respect for his honesty, for the way he approaches the game, for the way he approaches people. He in no way receives any of the criticism he receives for his play based on that. Aaron Rodgers needs you to believe that because he needs us to believe that he's still the same dude he always been. And the one thing that I did in making sure I spoke about Aaron Rodgers from an unbiased perspective was I included none of the stories I know about him from people who have played with him, people who have coached there.

[Ryan Clark]

I want you to stop right there because crc, you're too good looking, bro, to be having the phone cutting off half your head. I need you to remove it. There you go. Right there. Right there. Yes, sir. Now we see. Now we see you all. You don't have a hairline to hide like I do. You don't have the hairline to hide like I do. All right, but, but, but listen, let me, let me get back to it, because you brought up Aaron Rodgers in terms of. You didn't bring up some of the things that folks have said about him. Let's get to the, the nuts and bolts of it again. You played.

[Caleb]

We.

[Ryan Clark]

I didn't. A lot of folks that talk about it didn't. But you talk about how you've spoken to players, you've spoken to coaches, you're inside those locker rooms. You work on Monday Night Countdown, okay, doing Monday Night Football for espn. You're NFL Live contributor. You contribute to that show. First take, Get Up. The list goes on and on. Plus you got your own Inside the NFL show. All right? You talk to a lot of people in the NFL. What are the stories about Aaron Rodgers that makes. That would make somebody like you say he's a fraud.

[Caleb]

Like, you know, and I'm gonna do this, and I'm gonna say this truly out of respect for you. Like, those are those people's stories to tell, okay? And. And I don't want to do that because I think it now opens up a different conversation between me and Aaron Rodgers, which right now, which right now is him saying things that are very superficial, very surface level, and it's me continuing to do my job in a professional way. And, and I don't have a personal issue with Aaron Rodgers. And I also know that, like, and you know me well enough to know I probably move differently than Aaron Rodgers. I could say this to you. I reached out to Pat McAfee because there were some parts of Aaron's, you know, sort of appearance on this show where, you know, jealousy was brought out and you know, Aaron says at the end, you know, there's a respect level. And that's why Pat McAfee can get certain guests. And that was why in my response to him, I listed the sort of people I've sat down with on the pivot. Right, right. And so I think part of, part of the, the piece that made me call Aaron Rodgers of fraud is his continual deflection of things that matter in order to feed his fan base. Right. In order to get people who are like minded, people who would want to rail against someone like me to find a way to get them to do it, you know, to talk about, like, what my vac status is. I mean, and you know, to say that you looked it up. The only thing I ever said about him was he was deceitful. And of course, Stephen A. I am vaccinated because I don't have a spleen, I don't have a gallbladder, my immune system is deficient. But I think to tell me what meeting you've been in, right. Where we've said before speaking about Aaron Rodgers, make sure we speak a certain way because of his back status.

[Ryan Clark]

That has never happened.

[Caleb]

That never happened. And so I think the, the other big piece for me is to sit there with Pat McAfee and continue to behave as if you're somewhere, some in some way being railroaded in some way a narrative is being driven about you outside of what the play is. It is fraudulent to sit in front of the TV and pretend to build up teams and teammates and then to behave in locker rooms in ways I have been told he behaves. Yeah. It makes you a fraud. Own it. Own who you are. Own the times you've gone to the front office to talk about players because they aren't behaving in a way that you want them to. And I think all of that to me is things I don't agree with about Aaron Rodgers. But as I said as well, also stories that are supposed to be inside the locker room.

[Ryan Clark]

Ryan Clark, as a football analyst, tell us what we have seen from Aaron Rodgers this year on the football field compared. Yeah. So to what we're accustomed to see. Yeah.

[Caleb]

I mean, I think the first thing Stephen, is we should be seeing something different. He's a 41 year old coming off of Achilles. We see how that has hampered Kurt Cousins, but what we've seen is a slower decision maker. What we've seen is a guy whose missed passes that he normally and that we've seen him complete. We've seen Aaron Rodgers be the reason the New York jets have lost football games and all of those things are fair to say. Is there defense missing pieces that has not made it as good as it was in years? Aaron Rodgers was there, absolutely. But Aaron Rodgers has gotten everything he's asked for there. Stephen A. You wanted devonte Adams, we got you devonte Adams. You needed Alan Lazar, we got you Alan Lazarus. Garrett Wilson was a guy that had thousand yard seasons without you. This is a team that was 4, that was 7 and 10 last year with Zach Wilson at the helm, that has to win three of their games to equal that win total, to equal that record. We've seen below level play and I think at some point, you know, people are going to point to the stats right at the end of the season, he may finish with close to 30 tubs, he may finish at 8 to 10 interception and they're going to say, okay, this is play you can win with, but it's the 21st QBR in all of the league and when you're behind, you get to throw the ball as much as you freaking want to. And so I just don't think that he's played at a level that has elevated the New York jets and he also hasn't led at that level. When you see the frustration from Garrett Wilson on the sideline, when you see Garrett Wilson and he having the training camp arguments that they've been having, that's a problem. When you talk about Robert Salah being fired, part of it is Aaron Rodgers play, part of it is also Aaron Rodgers leadership. It's Aaron Rodgers rhetoric and to me, like none of those things beget a leader, especially with the experiences that he's had in the NFL.

[Ryan Clark]

Let me get a little personal with you in this regard. When he talks about former players implying that haven't done what he has done, I want to go macro perspective and extend beyond Aaron Rodgers because I'm quite sure he's not the only player that feels that way when receiving criticism over the airwaves. My attitude is this, okay, it's the media, you get to say we never played, it's pundits and commentators, et cetera. But in your case, in the case of swagu, our colleague Marcus Spears, the Dan Orlovsky's, the Cam Newtons of the world, the Shannon Sharps and various others that we're blessed to work with every single week, right? Yeah, y'all have all played. So it's like how is it as a former player hearing a player say to you all who the Hell are y'all, when you're actually one of them? I don't understand that. How do you take that?

[Caleb]

I mean, isn't that part of the arrogance, though, Stephen A. Is it? Isn't that part of the fraudulence that if you aren't saying the things that he wants you to say, now let's compare resumes. Now let's compare the things that we've accomplished, careers. And I get it, right? It's. It's a way to deflect from what the true issues are like. For. For me, I'd say, hey, let's sit down and break down the film. Then, like, you know, let's watch it. Let's watch you throw the football inside to Mike Williams against the Minnesota Vikings and lose that game. And then part of the fraud piece for me, Stephen A. Is calling Mike Williams out after the Bills game for not running down the red line. You tell me what leaders, what good quarterbacks do that, that throw their other players under the bus. We watch this man do that. And that's part of why I called him a fraud. And so to me, like, him calling out former players doesn't bother me. Right. It goes along with his lack of accountability. It goes along with his feeling that he is above reproach. And piece of it is right, and is that there are some former analysts who won't call him out about certain things. And so now when I reply in the way I do, or when I have the feelings I do, I'm the anomaly, right? Like, I'm the guy that's wrong. I'm the guy that has a problem with him. Well, now I'm just a dude that feels a certain way, so I tell my truths and so he can say all he wants about us. I think what I found hypocritical about it was that he was on a show with a former player, with two former players, actually.

[Ryan Clark]

Yeah.

[Caleb]

A show that employs another former player in Darius Butler. And so I think for me, it's, bro, you sitting up here getting paid money by Pat McAfee to do the exact same thing that you're railing against. And that's the bigger problem from a.

[Ryan Clark]

Macro perspective, you being the host of the Pivot, y'all been doing a great, great job making major noise. Major props to you guys as well, and your career especially. You've really ascended, and you deserve everything. Let me take that back. You deserve more than you're getting. I'm just saying.

[Josh]

I'm just gonna say it.

[Ryan Clark]

You deserve more than you.

[Caleb]

Thank you.

[Ryan Clark]

Brother. But I say this to you. As you look at the media landscape that you are now a part of and you analyze and witness today's culture compared to what it used to be, how concerned are you? Maybe not for yourself, but for the industry at large moving forward, knowing that these athletes, it seems their sensitivity level has heightened enormously, probably because of the advent of social media and coming from everywhere, how concerned are you about that having, dare I say, a negative effect on sports moving forward?

[Caleb]

Yeah. So I think the, I think the biggest thing that happens, Stephen A. Is that athletes will try to lessen the authenticity and honesty of our voices. Right. If you listen to the way Aaron Rodgers attacked me in his second appearance on Pat McAfee, he didn't attack my words, he didn't try to attack any facts. What he tried to do was win the emotional battle. He tried to discredit me by saying there's no way that he's being honest about me because he disagrees with my vaccination status. Which I don't, I don't really care. It's your, it's your decision, it's your body. But instead of saying, hey, Ryan Clark is wrong about me being hypocritical because of X, Y and Z, Ryan Clark is wrong to call me arrogant because of X, Y and Z. Ryan Clark is wrong to call me a fraud because of X, Y and Z. See, that is what athletes will do now. They won't have to combat you with facts. Because in truth, Stephen A, outside of people like you, maybe you know, Shay Sharp, the current athlete is more popular than I am. The current athlete is more popular than SWAGU is, than Dan Alofsky is and those sorts of former athletes. So I don't really have to be truthful, I don't have to be factual. I can use the emotion of the fan base I've built based off of the skill in my sport. And I felt like that's what Aaron Rodgers was trying to do. But I'm not scared about what this means for media because we all have to adapt, right? We all have to adjust. I mean, look at yourself. You're the biggest name in sports media, in linear tv and you're now creating this platform for yourself. That's amazing. Created by you, controlled by you, because you do understand the media landscapes and the way that it's changing. And I think that's what we all have to do. We all have to be able to evolve. But I think even if you look at my four minute response that I posted on Social. It gives me an opportunity to take control of the narrative of self, the narrative that's being painted of me. And, you know, I appreciate those opportunities as well.

[Ryan Clark]

How mindful and cognizant, or should I say, say, how much does it really affect you and how you go about the business of doing your job on an everyday basis considering the growth and the maturation that has taken place in you. When you look at the pivot, you look at espn, Listen, we have a voice we always call rc. We always call rc. We want to hear what you have to say. We want the audience to hear what you have to say. You've been on me, or you've been on TV with me on several occasions, and there's times that I could say something, I'm going like this now. Let him say it. You definitely do that. Let him speak on this. He's more qualified because it's important that your voice is heard. How mindful are you of that now at this point in time in your career, on a personal level than you were, say, five years ago, ten years ago ago?

[Caleb]

I'm very mindful of it, to be honest. Stephen A. Like, I think about you often, you know, and I get to talk about you a lot because everybody. That's the first thing I'm always asked and always like, man, how you. How you deal with that dude? And I always tell him, nobody in that building has stood up for me the way that you have. Nobody in that building has advised me in that way. I said, he's taught me so much, whether it's by actual advice or being able to watch him. And I think the thing that I've learned, Stephen A. Is like, these are the things we ask for by working hard, right? You want your voice to matter, right? And. And what I've learned is the. The other side, right? The people that push against the things that we say. A lot of times they show me that I'm on the right path. They show me that I'm where I want to be, and I do get what I represent. I represent the next former player who wants to be Ryan Clark, the next former player who wants to have the platform that I do. And so that's important to me that I represent that in the right way, but it's also important to me that I stay authentic. It's also important to me that I remain myself. And I think that was a big part of my second response to Aaron Rodgers. And I can tell you this and share it with you. I had actually done something the day before, afterwards. And it was before Pat and I text message. And part of it involved Pat, not in like a disrespectful way, in any way, because I have no issues with him, but it talked about his show, the platform, and, you know, his. Him giving Aaron Rodgers the space to say those things. And I didn't post that because I was like, nah, as a man is Pat, and I have no issues. If Pat and I have had these conversations, he doesn't need to be involved in any way in this response. So it can be skewed that we have a problem because I recognize the power of my voice and the way that people would try to attack and critique and pick apart everything I do. And so I took, you know, I made sure to be smart about that also in my response to Aaron Rodgers. I made sure my tone was a professional tone. I made sure my words were facts, factual. I made sure I didn't insult him. I thought about the first response on first take and I said, well, I feel like a lot of these things were taken this way because of my wording.

[Ryan Clark]

Right?

[Caleb]

Fraud, arrogant. Let me be extremely careful in how I do that and make sure that my words are as poignant as possible because I understand the voice and like, I worked for this, I earned this, and I want to protect it as well.

[Ryan Clark]

How much does your son, being a college player at Notre Dame right now, about to play tonight, by the way, against Indiana, I'm picking Notre Dame to win this game. How much does your son, knowing he's in the sports world, he's a player. How much does that affect how you speak and how you disseminate messages to the masses at this point in time?

[Caleb]

You know what's, what's funny about it, Stephen A. Is when I didn't post the thing I recorded that involved Pat, I was actually done right. I was like, man, I'm not gonna say nothing. I'm gonna let it go. I couldn't go to sleep, Stephen A. Because I felt tried. Like, I felt like he tried to play me and like, I had no resolve. Like I didn't speak up for myself. And I think that matters to me more when it pertains to my son than what I say in the media as it pertains to analyzing football. I want him to know that we always have to worry about the self respect. We always have to worry about the last name. We always have to be concerned with the authenticity. We always have to know that when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we were true to who God Made us to be. And I think that that's the most important thing for me. And as far as him, he has the podcast here called the Irish Scoop. And I was walking down the hall last night, and this lady stopped me, and she goes, a white woman, actually, and she says, I love everything you do on TV. And I 100% agree with you on what you said to Aaron Rodgers. And then the last thing she told me was, and I love your son's podcast. You know, and, like, for. For me, man, that meant the world to me because, you know, I've worked hard in both careers, and for him to be doing both of the things that I've been able to feed my family with, and to be doing them at a high level and to have people take recognition of that really is.

[Ryan Clark]

A blessing for him, you know, Listen, man, I. I mean, I wanted to bring you on the show because you're my brother. I love you, and I know I will vouch for your integrity all day, any day, any time of the week. And I knew that you came across professionally and what have you, but you had to click that because I know how you roll. You ain't backing up. You know, I know you've been there. I know this. I know this. All right, but listen, man, before I let you get on out of here, since I got you here, man, I need your help. I was going to do these quick takes by myself. I got a couple of NFL games to get to. You, and I got a couple of college football games to get to. Oh, by the way, I don't know if you know this. You know, I've. I'm going to the Steelers Ravens game tomorrow. You know, I've been. I've been invited.

[Caleb]

What side you sitting on?

[Ryan Clark]

No, no, no. I've been invited as a guest of the. The governor. What's more, I'm a person who gets the governor. So we roll.

[Caleb]

I respect that.

[Ryan Clark]

We roll into the game together, you know? You know me, I'm going. I'm not trying to sit. No stands. I'm not trying to sit on.

[Caleb]

You said the owner's box at the Chargers game.

[Ryan Clark]

This is true. And I'm not apologizing for it. And I'm gonna try to get as many of those seats as I possibly can. I see. But let me ask you this. I mean, I, I. Are you gonna be a Benedict Arnold or, remember you a Pittsburgh Steeler? That's where the super bowl was. The Steelers, the Ravens, Saturday. Lamar Jackson can't beat the Steelers. Lost eight of them. Last nine last meetings against the Steelers and stuff like that. What's gonna happen? Who's winning?

[Caleb]

You know what? I think the Ravens get this one. When I look at the way this team is played down the stretch, they kind of short up some of the things in the secondary. But what scares me is no George Pickens.

[Ryan Clark]

Oh, I know.

[Caleb]

Look at this. Look at this offense. The last two weeks without him, no explosive plays. Can't back defenders off of the offense. And the other piece of it was, when you go back to the first game, Lamar Jackson had some opportunities to use his legs, and he didn't. And he said his mom told him he had to stop that. And that makes me scared because the called quarterback run worked when used against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And we all know how electrifying Lamar can be when he gets outside the pocket. And if he utilizes those things, it could be trouble.

[Ryan Clark]

Kansas City Chiefs. Texans.

[Caleb]

I got the. I got the Chiefs.

[Ryan Clark]

Even when Patrick Mahomes hobbled.

[Caleb]

Man, Patrick Mahomes won a Super Bowl. Hobbled.

[Ryan Clark]

Stephen A. I know, I know, I know, I know.

[Josh]

And.

[Caleb]

And I will. I will say this. The Texans have a chance that they could turn the football over. What scares me is their protection of CJ Stroud. This offensive line just hasn't been good this year. I think that's a big piece of why his numbers are down. He started to rush a little bit. Not the sort of poise we saw from him last season. Even in a win last week, they weren't explosive in the past game. So I believe the Kansas City Chiefs do enough.

[Ryan Clark]

Let's go to college football, man. We're talking about Indiana and Notre Dame tonight. I mean, I know you gonna pick Notre Dame. That's just, son. But the inclement weather, the snow and all of that stuff.

[Caleb]

Yeah.

[Ryan Clark]

You don't expect that to have a negative effect in any way.

[Caleb]

No. I mean, both of these teams can run the football. Indiana is so precise with what they do with Signetti and the way that they use their quarterback offensively. Such a system. Quarterback knows exactly where to go with it. But we can run the football. Jeremiah Love, and you'll see it tonight. Stephen A. I think he should be an early Heisman favorite next year. He's just a dude. Explosive and scored in every game this season. Riley Leonard has continued to improve since that NIU game. I think this game is close. I believe it's low scoring, but I expect the defense to make enough plays. Look for zero. Xavier Watts, the best safety in football, to come up with the Turnover. And I think this is the game. And we move on to the Sugar Bowl January 1st against Georgia.

[Ryan Clark]

How much? How much. I mean, how much do you work with your son and how. And how tricky does that get? Because sometimes, I mean, you might. In other words, for us, the. The average person out here doesn't play. You'll look at. You'll imagine a player playing for a particular coach and a coach telling the parents to stay away, stay on the sideline. Let me do this. But you. You can't say that to. When. When the dad's. The guy's father is a Super bowl champion. Okay, that was in a secondary, for crying out loud.

[Caleb]

Yeah, so I've trained him, Stephen A. Since he was in eighth grade. We were driving to school, and he looks at me, he goes, dad, I want to play college ball. And he's like, I want to play receiver. I was like, well, pops, can't really help you with that. I was like, I think you should play receiver in high school, too, but let's train db. And so I've been doing it his entire career. I'm the only DB trainer he's ever had outside of his coaches.

[Ryan Clark]

We.

[Caleb]

I remember I would grade every play from high school football and give him his grade. We'd go through the tape. But now that he's in college, I backed off. I'm not one of those dads that's on the sidelines. I don't go to practice when parents aren't invited. I don't stick my head into meetings. Like, I don't do that. Obviously, Coach Free and I have a good relationship. Like, I text him each week and we talk about just mindset of football, but we don't talk about Jordan. Jordan has to control his own career.

[Ryan Clark]

Last question for you, Tennessee number nine at Ohio State. I have been of this mindset. I'm not in the calling for people to get fired. I'm very selective with that. Okay, you got to really be bad. Ryan Day is not bad. 6610 career record, for crying out loud. But he's lost four straight years to Michigan at the Ohio State. And if he's not a part of the national championship picture after having a $20 million roster courtesy of nil in the transfer portal, combined with the fact that you had 11 players that were considered NFL caliber that returned to your squad this year, if you can't, if you lose. Tomorrow night on abc, after losing the Michigan for a fourth straight time, Ryan Clark, I don't know how he could keep his job to that you say what?

[Caleb]

Yeah, I, I, I I don't believe he can Stephen A I think 1. Ohio State's tired of losing to Michigan. 2. When you have the best roster money can buy, you have to produce. Tennessee is a good team. They're SEC team. Only two losses this year, but Ryan Day in Ohio State Buckeyes should win this game, especially playing at home. I think if he doesn't not only win this game but end up being in the final four of the College Football Playoff picture, I think Ryan Day will lose his job and there will be another head coach at Ohio State University.

[Ryan Clark]

Ryan Clark, man, appreciate your time wishing your son Jordan good luck tonight against Indiana Notre Dame. Thank you Indiana. Appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to come on and talk to me and rap to me, man. Really appreciate it. All the best to you. I'll see you soon, my man.

[Caleb]

All up.

[Ryan Clark]

All right, One and only Ryan Clark right here on the Stephen Ace.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the Now It Pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, I'm Hunter, host.

[Hunter]

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 sister 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 podcasts.

[Ryan Clark]

Smith Show. You heard what he had to say. You can respond accordingly. Coming up, I got a special holiday edition of the tweets coming my way that I wanted y'all to see, see and hear and all of that good stuff. Plus, the knucklehead is still here with me. He refuses to leave because like I pointed out earlier in the show, he doesn't want to go anywhere because I'm going to be talking about Bronnie James. He feels they have so much in common. My little nephew is here. Lord, save us all. Back with more the Stephen A. Smith show in a minute. Could you please get that camera off him? I need all of y'all to stop what you're doing and listen up. Here at the Stephen A. Smith show and in everything I do, I'm in it to win it. Everyone likes to win. That's why our show has decided to team up with Prize Picks, America's number one fantasy sports app with over 3 million members to help you turn all your sports knowledge into some big time cash. You see, Prize Picks is a daily fantasy app where you choose just between two and six players from any of the sports you love to watch and then pick more or less of their projected stats for the game. Pick Josh Allen's passing yards, Jaylen Brown's total rebounds, and Brock Faber's shots on goal all in the same entry. And because it is December, that means it's now Pixmas at Prize Picks. So be on the lookout all month for free picks, discounts and free lineups in addition to the other great Prize Picks promotions like the Prizepix Flex Friday promotion where you can opt in for protected play. That's right, every Friday on Prizepix. Find a protect to play option where you win or your cash back. And that's not all. Sign up with Code SAS and Prizepix will give you $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a $5 lineup on prizepix and we'll get you $50 instantly. Prize picks pick more, pick less. It's really, really that easy. Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. I want to get back to basketball and the G League, believe it or not, where Bronny James continues to impress with the South Bay Lakers. Bronnie scored 16 points yesterday to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals in South Bay's 9890 loss to the the Greensboro Swarm. The game comes off Bronny's 30 point performance last week against the Valley Suns. The 55th overall pick in this year's draft is playing with more confidence, averaging 20 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2 assists per game this month. He's also showing his ability to knock down shots and be A playmaker with and without the basketball. And it's appropriate that I mention him because I'm really proud of the progress that he is showing. He's gonna earn his stripes. He keeps playing this way. And my knuckleheaded nephew who interrupted my show earlier, all right, he's sitting right here with me now. And, you know, everybody made news. You know, you're real popular over the last week. Cause you're calling yourself the Bronny James, you know, the Bronny James of the media and what have you. Because I'm here. I probably don't belong here. And, you know, but he's showing he belongs. When you gonna show you belong?

[Josh]

Well, my numbers is up, just like his is up.

[Ryan Clark]

How?

[Josh]

How?

[Ryan Clark]

How? What do you mean your numbers are up? They were nowhere, so where were they gonna go but up? They were on the ground. You never been on TV before?

[Josh]

Listen, the hate the comment is, no, I make the show they like. Give your nephew his own show. Now, I'm not saying you should leave the show, but we should just switch seats.

[Ryan Clark]

What? What do you mean, switch seats?

[Josh]

I'm just telling you what they said.

[Ryan Clark]

So they talk about dates and switch seats.

[Josh]

That's what they said.

[Ryan Clark]

Come switch seats, Josh. Come on, Josh.

[Josh]

Come, Josh. I need to be in that seat.

[Ryan Clark]

Don't knock on my damn table. Go ahead.

[Josh]

Cause I got questions about you, so.

[Ryan Clark]

You got questions about me? All right, you want to switch seats? All right, fine, Josh. Fine, Josh. See, this is Christmas.

[Josh]

I'm right where I belong. Now, this is quick. I came over here.

[Ryan Clark]

This is Christmas. This is Christmas. I'm chilling. I'm going to let you. Go ahead. Go ahead, nephew.

[Josh]

All right, so, one.

[Ryan Clark]

Do you know how to ask questions?

[Josh]

You about to find out. Christmas is coming. But you got me.

[Ryan Clark]

Absolutely nothing. You got not one, but two pairs of my Cartier glasses. So since you took them without seeking permission, consider them your gifts. Now, I got Jace. I got him covered. I got your cousin T.J. i got him covered. I got your nieces, I got your cousins on the female side, the Keytouras, the Nays, the Tamiyas, Shawnas, Candace, everybody. I got everybody covered. You understand what I'm saying? Just not you. Just not you. I didn't even bring up your sisters. Carmela, Candace. I mean, Carmela, Shawna, Janet. I mean, listen, I got everybody covered but you, because none of them stole my stuff.

[Josh]

Well, luckily for me, this merch is taking over. It's a little hot in here, too. As a matter of fact, I got you something. And I got a security on a company card. Can you give him his gift, please?

[Ryan Clark]

Welcome to the We Rich family.

[Josh]

Turn it around. Yeah. Lift the hoodie up so they can see the Merry Christmas.

[Ryan Clark]

Let me see.

[Josh]

We rich. Go ahead, say your line.

[Ryan Clark]

Oh, my. Who's we?

[Josh]

You just switch seats. I gotta shout this for you. How you like that? Now, in return, I want a Glorilla concert. Like a personal one. I don't want to go to a concert. I want her to come here and just perform. I don't know how much it's gonna cost, but you got it.

[Ryan Clark]

I'm not paying for her to perform. I'm not paying for nobody to perform here. Nobody. Why would I pay somebody to perform?

[Josh]

Glorilla is the hottest thing ever.

[Ryan Clark]

So what? The fact of the matter is, that's free publicity right there. And you standing. You my man. Standing like he's security and all of that.

[Josh]

I pay him company card. Then I want the Jordans.

[Ryan Clark]

The Jordan boss. Pause, pause, pause. Introduce yourself to the audience, man. Oh, he's not Mike. Tell him his name.

[Josh]

That's my security, Caleb. Turn around so they can see the shirt.

[Ryan Clark]

That's right.

[Josh]

It's real security. And that's all he is.

[Ryan Clark]

He's family, too. His dad is Vernon, one of my best childhood buddies growing up. The Ravenel, Sheila and everybody. Maysha and everybody else. That's it. He's family. He ain't security like Josh.

[Josh]

Digo, the money.

[Ryan Clark]

That's my man, too.

[Josh]

I ain't got to pay you today. That's it. I said I don't got to pay you today. So what else? I. Where was I at my gift?

[Ryan Clark]

You don't even remember. You don't even remember you hosting a.

[Josh]

Show because you telling me I'm not getting nothing for Christmas. Look at your gift.

[Ryan Clark]

This ain't no damn gift. It's a curse. It's you sitting there telling everybody we we rich. You don't have anything.

[Josh]

I don't. We do. I'm consistent.

[Ryan Clark]

And since we talked about you, consistently full of it.

[Josh]

I lost my money last night.

[Ryan Clark]

How?

[Josh]

Steph Curry had two points. You was just talking about it.

[Ryan Clark]

So you gambled.

[Josh]

I don't even consider that gambling. I picked and a half. 20.

[Ryan Clark]

If you don't bet, you keep your money in your pocket.

[Josh]

Don't bet. That's as good as not betting. Steph Curry for 20. You supposed to have that. I blame Steve Kerr.

[Ryan Clark]

That's an opinion. That's an opinion. You being trying to. You're trying to be assertive like that. Where you get that from?

[Josh]

Yeah, I get that from. That's funny, Steve. Listen, Steve Kerr, you're playing. You're not starting. Buddy Hill. Steph Curry needs space. When you gonna say something? If it was Doc Rivers, y'all be all down him.

[Ryan Clark]

Well, Steve Curris has four championship rings, so it's kind of difficult to question a man that has gone to six NBA Finals and has won four. It's kind of hard to do that.

[Josh]

You coaching the goat. So he good forever.

[Ryan Clark]

So Steph Curry's the goat now?

[Josh]

Oh, to me.

[Ryan Clark]

Oh, it wasn't LeBron James.

[Josh]

You know why he's the goat?

[Ryan Clark]

No, no, I fluctuate. I just. Fluid. It's fluid. It's fluid.

[Josh]

It's fluid.

[Ryan Clark]

It's fluid.

[Josh]

Yeah. And right now, Steph Curry's number one. And you know why? Because we have Bron so high on the goat list.

[Ryan Clark]

He's not on high on my goat list.

[Josh]

Is he number two?

[Ryan Clark]

My goat.

[Josh]

Is he number two?

[Ryan Clark]

He's number two.

[Josh]

So the fact that Steph Curry has beaten somebody that's in the run for the goat debate three times in the finals. Can Michael Jordan say that?

[Ryan Clark]

Michael Jordan.

[Josh]

He's never beaten a goat.

[Ryan Clark]

Because no one was that good.

[Josh]

We gotta let go of that.

[Ryan Clark]

He was that good. We gotta let go. Michael, you about to get slapped inside. James head on that.

[Josh]

I'm about. Who you playing?

[Ryan Clark]

Michael Jordan. Excuse me. Michael Jordan was so great. There was no one that compared to him. See, the point that I'm trying to make to you is that you had people in the LeBron James era looking at LeBron James wanting and wanting to go at him. Because there was a debate as to whether or not they were on that level. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, et cetera. With Michael Jordan, there was no debate. It was him and nobody else. And everybody knew it.

[Josh]

And that's what we trying to tell you. There was nobody else. Who's the best tool Michael Jordan ever have to play? Jeff Hornacek? Bob Marley?

[Ryan Clark]

Bob Marley.

[Josh]

Dan Marley.

[Ryan Clark]

Did you say Bob Marley?

[Josh]

That's what I'm saying.

[Ryan Clark]

Dan Marley.

[Josh]

Dan Marley.

[Ryan Clark]

Bob Marley, you idiot. What about. What about Isaiah? What about Isaiah and Dumas? What about Bird before that? What about beating Mike? Listen, this is Michael Jordan. His first title was over Magic Johnson. His second title was against Portland, against Clyde Drexler and those crew. His third title was over Charles Barkley. Dan Marley, Kevin Johnson, another name you don't even appreciate with your young, wet behind the ears, breath Smelling like Similaxa. Then he gets leaves for a full year, comes back with 17 games left in the second year, ends up getting bowed out by Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, those boys. What does he do thereafter? He comes back for a second three peat, okay? He smashes them. Goes to the finals, he wins. He beats Utah, Beat Seattle, beat Utah again, Three peat. Karl Malone, Stockton, Gary Payton, Sean Kemp. What are you talking about?

[Josh]

So every.

[Ryan Clark]

Have I not taught you enough?

[Josh]

You about to teach me something else. Everybody, you just named who's the better scorer than Kevin Durant.

[Ryan Clark]

What scorer? That's all it is.

[Josh]

There is none. Who's the better shooter?

[Ryan Clark]

Hold on. That's all it is.

[Josh]

I'm just asking.

[Ryan Clark]

That's all it is.

[Josh]

In my era, Steph Curry is the best shooter ever. That's what you call Steph Curry?

[Ryan Clark]

The greatest shooter. Greatest shooter, God ever.

[Josh]

And that's who Bron gotta play. Okay, we got Kevin Durant, the best.

[Ryan Clark]

Scorer, had Kyrie and Kevin Love.

[Josh]

I'm just saying who you gotta go against. Michael Jordan never played the best nothing.

[Ryan Clark]

I'm saying to you, he was so phenomenal that it was universally understood nobody was in his class. Whereas with LeBron as great as he is, there was a debate once upon a time. Is it him or kd? There was a debate once upon a time. Is it him or Steph Curry? You understand? But there has never been a debate with Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was called God in Gym Shorts by Larry Bird. I'm giving you facts. Listen, you want to change the subject before we get out of here? Because I got work to do. I'm giving you. I'm giving you some shine. You got to change the subject for Christmas.

[Josh]

Now, I want to talk about. Because I wanted to talk about this before. Nobody knows about this. When we. Our last one on one game. Since you've been playing basketball and stuff lately, you.

[Ryan Clark]

You mean when I bust your ass and you had. And you needed to.

[Josh]

Can I provide context before you. It's 2005. I'm minding my business. I'm coming fashionably late to the one barbecue he throws per year to show off his pool. So I walk in and he like, I bust Josh ass. I'm like, I just got here.

[Ryan Clark]

What happened?

[Josh]

What we talking about? We end up at a park. You know, he started getting some money, but he wasn't rich rich yet. So he was at the park without the. So he's pushing me, fouling me. Y'all know he calls the. Our era as soft as cottonelle. Is that what you say?

[Ryan Clark]

Yeah.

[Josh]

That sounds like somebody that's gonna foul you, right? He's fouling me. I was up about 10, 2. I'm thinking it's point game. I'm like, yo, check.

[Caleb]

Point game.

[Josh]

He like, point game. Game's 32.

[Ryan Clark]

So you go, so we gonna lie with the cameras rolling. Josh, you came to the park with me. I literally was beating you 30 to 4. 30 to.

[Josh]

Don't even look like that. Cause you never do that.

[Ryan Clark]

30 for 4 destroyed you. Excuse me. Your cousins were there as eyewitnesses. Don't say your cousins were 30 something. Excuse me. Excuse me.

[Josh]

I'm tired.

[Ryan Clark]

We did exactly. So what does it say to you that 15 years ago, 17 years ago. What is it, 2005? 19 years ago. 19 years ago. Okay. I'm still in my late 30s. Okay, you a young whippersnapper approaching 20. And I spanked you. You have never beaten me. You could never mess with me. Let's answer this question. Has there ever been a time that you've beaten me in basketball ever in your lifetime?

[Josh]

I mean, how many. I mean, how many times have you played?

[Ryan Clark]

Excuse me. Excuse me. We played many, many times over the years. Years with you growing up, have you ever beaten me ever? Ever?

[Josh]

Well, we on tv. Yeah, I beat you. Oh, so we don't sit here and fold into that. Yeah, I beat you before.

[Ryan Clark]

So you gonna lie, Nash. Each other.

[Josh]

So you gonna act like you done sweat me?

[Ryan Clark]

Yes, I did. Here's the deal. You do understand that part of the gift of being on camera is being authentic.

[Caleb]

Yeah.

[Ryan Clark]

People have to look at you and know you ain't full of shit.

[Josh]

They know I'm not.

[Ryan Clark]

You gotta know that you're not lying.

[Josh]

First of all, you said 30 to 4.

[Ryan Clark]

It's easy. Easy. You couldn't. Easy, easy.

[Josh]

You know what? Now it sound like we're gonna have to set that up. I don't like how I'm being spoken about.

[Ryan Clark]

Hey, Josh. Josh. Uncle Steve got bad deeds.

[Josh]

Me, too.

[Ryan Clark]

I play once a year. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe as busy as I am. Cause we know how busy I am. I'm busy as I am, okay? I will step on the court and whip your ass and still be right now.

[Josh]

I thought he was setting up the.

[Caleb]

Right now.

[Josh]

I thought he was setting up the humble right now. All right, Same.

[Ryan Clark]

You understand what I'm saying right now? It's not even. I wouldn't even waste my time. You have never again. You have been on this. How old do you tell the audience.

[Josh]

We Gonna play for the.

[Ryan Clark]

How old do you tell the audience?

[Josh]

36.

[Ryan Clark]

You are 36 years of age. You have never beaten your uncle. Is that not true? Thank you very much. Go switch another sub.

[Josh]

It's his show. I'm in the seat. It's his show and he's being.

[Ryan Clark]

Switch another subject. Because you always bringing up the shade room and stuff like that. Any questions?

[Josh]

First of all, you're not even protecting me. So you can step back a little bit.

[Ryan Clark]

You go off the screen.

[Josh]

Yeah, you're not even protecting me.

[Ryan Clark]

Go ahead. All right. He can't protect you from Uncle Steve.

[Josh]

What you just saying?

[Ryan Clark]

Go ahead. I'm giving you the chair. This is your last part. Come up with some subject that you could compete in.

[Josh]

All right, so when can we do this more often? Because I'm feeling this, and I have a feeling that it's going to do good. Look at me.

[Ryan Clark]

I would. Absolutely. First of all, I'm always gonna do for you. If I'm always doing for you, I'm always gonna do for your cousin tj. Y'all are my two nephews. You know how I feel about y'all. But here's the deal. I can't do anything for a person that doesn't show up to work. Your lazy ass will skip work. You wanna do. You wanna do it on your own time. I have my production crew here. You'll show up two hours late, you know, you'll wanna leave an hour early. You want to work days. And then you say, nah, I changed my mind. I don't feel like working this day. You know? And then you. A lot of the world talk about we, Rich. You said a lot of the world. Yeah. Cause it's no we. It's no we. It's no we. You have to earn your own way. Okay? So my point to you is what's up?

[Caleb]

What?

[Josh]

Like what?

[Ryan Clark]

You want to do tv? Yeah. You gonna put in the work?

[Josh]

Yeah. Really work is here. I'm the work.

[Ryan Clark]

See? See what I'm saying? See right there. See? What do you know?

[Josh]

I'm a.

[Ryan Clark]

You just showed you lack knowledge in sports. No, I didn't me about Jordan and LeBron.

[Josh]

I can't wait to the con, you understand? I can't wait for everybody knows support me.

[Ryan Clark]

Or just a bunch of young ignorant us young.

[Josh]

We don't like Michael Jordan like that.

[Ryan Clark]

That engage in Asian. They ain't seen Michael Jordan. That's the only reason why we did see him.

[Josh]

We seen that he had a little trouble going left.

[Ryan Clark]

So Michael Jordan had Trouble going left.

[Josh]

Yeah, we in that we analyze.

[Ryan Clark]

Now we analyze Michael Jordan had trouble going left. You have any idea how ignorant you sound? Listen, you sound so ignorant. Michael Jordan might call just to slap me over the phone for allowing my nephew to say something like that on my platform.

[Josh]

It's footage that supports what I'm saying, man.

[Ryan Clark]

Go to the tweets. Go to the tweets. I'm pulling rank from the guest chair. I'm still gonna do the show. Pull a tweet. Read the damn tweets. Make yourself useful.

[Josh]

Was Rudolph a system reindeer? They saying he is a foggy night merchant. Bad attempt at being funny.

[Ryan Clark]

Next to each quarterback. Like a system quarterback next week. What do you think? What do you think?

[Josh]

Terrible.

[Ryan Clark]

It's terrible. I'm gonna say. Yeah, yeah, it's like a system quarterback. I'm gonna interpret it and put it in football parlance and go with the answer to the affirmative on that question. I'm not gonna disrespect my audience like that. If somebody took time enough to tweet us, you could at least have the decency to answer the question. See?

[Josh]

Sorry. Now, I learned from you on your radio.

[Ryan Clark]

You remember, huh?

[Josh]

Yeah. Radio station. This was you every day.

[Ryan Clark]

Every day.

[Josh]

That was him.

[Ryan Clark]

But I do it better than you. I do it better than you. I go like this. Did you really just say that?

[Josh]

That was. See, I have to read it. I have to read a dumb tweet. When you picking up the phone and you on em. It's a little different. It's a different type of next tweet.

[Ryan Clark]

Please give it to me. Read that one.

[Josh]

Why did Forrester Snowman have to hurry on his way When. When he saw the traffic cop.

[Ryan Clark]

Oh, man, he was scared. He was scared he was gonna get burned and melt.

[Josh]

That's what you got.

[Ryan Clark]

That's what I got. What you got?

[Josh]

I have nothing for these funny, ridiculous tweets. Next tweet. Griff, you're terrible at this. How would you get revenge on a.

[Caleb]

Reindeer that ran over grandma?

[Josh]

That ran over grandma.

[Ryan Clark]

How would you get revenge on a reindeer that grandma or grandma, I guess.

[Josh]

The reindeer would be dinner after.

[Ryan Clark]

It'd have to be something like that. I was going along those lines. I was saying I'd lure them into the woods and make sure a fox is up to snatch them up.

[Josh]

Oh, no, it would be me. We'd eat it post.

[Ryan Clark]

You gonna eat reindeer? Yeah. Since when? When the hell you eat reindeer steak?

[Josh]

All that stuff is the same type of.

[Ryan Clark]

No, it ain't.

[Josh]

You don't eat red meat. Yeah, you eat red meat.

[Ryan Clark]

Yeah, not as much as you.

[Josh]

Hey, not as much as you know what I'm saying? All right.

[Ryan Clark]

How does it feel for your uncle to be in better shape than you?

[Josh]

You're not in better shape than me, and we're gonna find out in our one on one.

[Ryan Clark]

You just admitted it. You just said the other day, you know what I'm saying? I don't be working out of nothing. You sat right here on this chair and said if I take off my shirt, I don't look like I work out. Those were your words. Am I lying? That's exactly what you said.

[Josh]

I don't look like I work out. I'm still in danger.

[Ryan Clark]

No, I'm shaping you. That's what you said. That's what you said. I'm talking about your words. Cause I don't know. I don't know what the hell you be doing. Cause I don't see you enough. You said you're not. You don't look like you're in shape at all because you ain't been working out. This is your words.

[Josh]

So if me and you did 20 push ups, right now, you look better than me doing the 20 push ups.

[Ryan Clark]

Yes. Go ahead, do 20.

[Josh]

Well, I got to do 20. I said me and you.

[Ryan Clark]

Yeah, but go ahead and do it.

[Josh]

Come on, we gonna side by side.

[Ryan Clark]

You first. You first.

[Josh]

Here's the world.

[Ryan Clark]

You first. Come on, man, give me 20. Give me 20. First of all, give me 20. I think.

[Josh]

Stop playing.

[Ryan Clark]

That ain't no. That ain't no. That ain't that. Really, that's. No.

[Josh]

You count by twos when you could do it when you could do. When you could do it with one.

[Ryan Clark]

So we count by twos?

[Josh]

Yes. I mean tens. Go ahead. Yes, sir.

[Ryan Clark]

That's it for this edition of this show. Man, please. I don't have to do no damn. I do no damn. Push up the truth. I don't have to do no damn. Push up the food other than you. What are you talking about? What are you talking about?

[Josh]

The whole 20? Are you talking about be the whole 20?

[Ryan Clark]

Come on, now. Better be the whole 9. 10. Keep talking.

[Josh]

11.

[Ryan Clark]

Keep talking. 12. Keep talking.

[Caleb]

13.

[Ryan Clark]

Keep talking. 14. Keep talking.

[Josh]

11.

[Ryan Clark]

12.

[Josh]

13. 14. 12. 13.

[Ryan Clark]

Come on, now. Get out of here. See y'all on Monday. Get him out of here. 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, we'll 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. What's up everyone? Julie Swearbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We're doing a new podcast together.

[Ryan Clark]

Here we go. The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb. Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right? Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us. Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe. Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.