Skip Bayless might not mind being the ‘most hated man in sports media,’ but Stephen A. Smith definitely doesn’t want to be known as the most annoying.
Last week, The Spun dropped a bracket featuring the 64 “most annoying” figures in sports media. It’s an apparent attempt at determining the “most annoying” sports media personality ahead of the NFL season. It’s also an apparent attempt at proving brackets aren’t just for March.
Smith landed on the list as a No. 1 seed, defeating Greg Olsen in the first round. And ahead of facing off against Charissa Thompson in round two of the tournament, he gave credence to the bracket by discussing it on his podcast.
“I don’t know how the hell I ended up on that list, but let me say this… The Spun, your list is trash,” Smith said definitively. “It’s trash. How the hell do you have Charissa Thompson on this list? She’s gorgeous, she’s smart, she’s good people, she’s my friend, who does she annoy? Really? Come one now, stop that. Ain’t nobody looking at Charissa Thompson and the word ‘annoyance’ comes to their mind.”
Smith obviously didn’t agree with seeing his own name on the bracket. But Smith, being the humble talent he is, seemed to have an even bigger issue with some of the other people on the list, mainly Thompson, Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright.
“You want to throw Skip Bayless on there, along with myself? Alright, that’s just haterade being thrown out. Feel free,” Smith continued. “I know you all love me, you certainly talk about me enough. It’s good for the ratings, ain’t it? It’s good for the clicks, ain’t it? Tell the truth.”
“How the hell could you have Colin Cowherd or Nick Wright on this list?” Smith asked. “Let me say this about Colin Cowherd…please understand that Colin Cowherd is one of the greatest radio hosts you’ll ever see… I don’t believe has a vicious bone in his body. He’s incredibly talented, very credible… Colin Cowherd is a treasure and a tribute to this industry.”
No offense to The Spun, but Smith is probably putting a little too much stock into this bracket. When brackets are out of season, the best way to stir up some engagement is by having a negative headline like, “most annoying” instead of “most talented.” This list of 64 is basically the 64 most relevant people in sports media. It would have been much more insulting if Smith, Thompson, Cowherd and Wright were forgotten from the bracket.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com