October 05, 2015
Usually around here, we try to post content that at least has some connection to Philly sports. Talking head Stephen A. Smith’s long tenure as an Inquirer columnist might be stretching that rule just a little bit, but sometimes exceptions need to be made.
From what I can tell, “First Take” is a ridiculous show. The two hosts take probably 15 minutes worth of material (“How bout dem Cowboys,” “LeBron is not clutch!”) and somehow stretch it into two hours. Next, they do the same thing on the other four days of the week. It’s quite a racket they are running over there in Bristol. In the video below, notice how slowly Smith talks and how many tangents he goes on where he essentially says nothing. Jay Pharoah probably doesn’t have an easier impression on SNL.
Anyway, Smith said on Friday that Kevin Durant was headed to Los Angeles if he left Oklahoma City at the end of this year. How Smith backtracks on that statement three days later while also scolding Durant is performance art.
Durant responded by calling Smith a liar, and Smith reacted in turn by reading Durant the riot act on air today. If you want the cliff notes version, fast forward ahead to the 10:58 mark:
“You don’t want to make an enemy out of me,” Smith tells Durant, in a comically serious tone. “And I’m looking right into the camera, and I’m gonna say it again: You don’t not want to make an enemy out of me. I’m not having it. I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’m not gonna tolerate it.”
I laughed pretty hard. “Not only are you lying about yourself, but now you are lying about me and I WON’T STAND FOR THAT… while I do a ridiculous show every day!” Again, it's performance art.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
