Stephen A. Smith led This Week In Hot Takes for May 10-16.
ESPNBy Andrew Bucholtz on

Welcome to another edition of This Week In Hot Takes. This time around, we’re looking at the hottest sports takes from May 10-16.

5. Keith Olbermann argues “this overtime must be replayed or no 2019 Cup awarded”: The uncalled hand-pass that led to the San Jose Sharks beating the St. Louis Blues Wednesday drew criticism from many corners, with even series director Kay Whitmore only saying the play wasn’t reviewable rather than defending the call. And FanDuel Sportsbook even refunded bets on the Blues. But there’s criticism of a bad call, and then there’s “this overtime must be replayed or no 2019 Cup awarded”; ESPN’s Keith Olbermann came up with the latter.

Olbermann’s wider critiques of the NHL’s officiating this postseason and of its review procedures aren’t without basis, but the league’s not going to replay that game, and the Stanley Cup really isn’t going to remain unawarded over a missed call in a third-round game.

Rating: 🔥🔥

4. Shannon Sharpe claims Zion Williamson should have wound up in L.A. or New York so stars can watch him courtside: There were a whole lot of fiery takes around the NBA draft lottery this week, which would up with the New Orleans Pelicans getting the top pick (and thus, presumably, Zion Williamson). One came from Fox’s Shannon Sharpe, who claimed this week the NBA should overrule its own draft (without specifying how they could do that) to force Williamson into a big market…so stars can be seen watching his games courtside?

“A guy like that, you want him in a big market, I’m sorry. That’s not to try and disparage these small-market teams, I understand that you want to have superstars to stay viable, but Zion in New York? Zion in LA? That’s box office. …It would have been better. The league is more interesting when you have the big, big guys in big, big markets. Jay-Z is not going to New Orleans to sit courtside to watch Zion.” Skip Bayless points out that stars went to Durham, NC to watch Zion play for Duke, and Sharpe responds with some more shots at the Pelicans: “The Pelicans, sell that. Oh, the Pelicans playing on a Tuesday night, woo-ee! Let’s load up the family and go.”

It seems highly unlikely that “stars sitting courtside” is actually a motivating factor for the NBA to do anything, especially as plenty of those stars in New York and Los Angeles have gone to games even when those teams are bad. And plenty of people will be watching the Pelicans this year if they have Williamson.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥

3. Adam Schein blames James Dolan and “bad sports karma” for the Knicks not getting the top pick: Speaking of that draft lottery, let’s talk about how the Knicks only had a 14 percent chance to win it (along with the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers). But for CBS Sports’ Adam Schein, the non-Zion to the Knicks’ outcome wasn’t a mathematically-predictable outcome, but rather “all bad sports karma created by Knicks’ owner James Dolan”:

Yep, ownership karma totally affected that result. That’s a thing, all right.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

2. Skip Bayless says there’s a “viable, credible threat” of Zion Williamson going back to Duke:

Yes, Williamson could theoretically decide by the NCAA’s deadline of May 29 to withdraw from the draft and head back to Duke, but it seems incredibly unlikely that he would pass up being the top pick and getting paid for his efforts to play another season of college basketball with just a scholarship as compensation. But Bayless says “I do see it as a viable credible threat” and adds “You don’t have to go to China or Europe, you can go back to where you really loved it” and Shannon Sharpe responds with an astounded “To play for free?” Bayless says “You say for free, but you don’t think there are deals being made everywhere?”

Uh huh. Yeah, Williamson will totally get paid as much as he would in the NBA in college, in a way that doesn’t attract any NCAA problems. Right. And basing this on Williamson just saying he loved playing at Duke is a heck of a stretch.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

1. Stephen A. Smith melts down over the Knicks not getting the #1 pick, including with “IF YOU ARE A KNICK FAN, THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF BEING KIDNAPPED, STORED IN A BASEMENT, BEING TORTURED AND THEY LET YOU OUT WHEN YOU ARE NO USE TO ANYBODY!”: The most remarkable thing from this whole lottery may be how completely ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith lost his mind about it. Let’s look at some examples:

The latest

That first Smith clip in particular prompted an amusing reaction from Will Leitch at New York magazine:

It’s a video with everything, beginning with Smith simply screaming, “DAMMIT!!!! DAMMIT!!!” into his phone, seemingly from a moving vehicle, before putting his head in his hands and mournfully shaking it as if he’d just witnessed a cute animal being run over by a train. For reasons unbeknownst to any sentient person, this television professional, one of the highest-paid media personalities on the planet, has not provided any light for his close-up, giving the video a confusing Blair Witch feel.

I might love the way he closes the video the most, wailing in his best Leave Britney Alone voice before nearly breaking down and moaning, in a startling Stephen A. admission, “I don’t even know what else to say.” He ultimately sticks the landing: “Hopefully I’ll calm down before First Take tomorrow,” bringing the whole thing home to nail the promo this was all about in the first place. Friends: Two million people have watched this video. I give up. Stephen A. wins. I accept it. In a sports-media world of disingenuous hucksters, blatant liars, and Barstool, this sort of lunatic performance art has a certain dignity to it. Good for you, Stephen A. If someone has to reign, it might as well be you.

Also, that second Smith clip (via Pablo Torre) in particular is hilarious enough to deserve a transcription:

“CUT THE DAMN MUSIC PLEASE! CUT IT OFF! I AM HAVING A VERY BAD DAY! I AM IN NO MOOD! THIS, TODAY, IS ONE OF THE WORST DAYS THAT I HAVE HAD IN A VERY LONG TIME! I’M NOT IN THE MOOD TO PLAY WITH ANYBODY! MY BROTHER BOMANI JONES IS IN ANOTHER BOOTH LOOKING AT ME, I LOVE THAT BROTHER, I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU TODAY! I’VE GOT PRODUCERS WHO HAVE BEEN VERY VERY GOOD TO ME, I’VE GOT BOSSES WHO HAVE BEEN VERY VERY GOOD TO ME, I’VE GOT COWORKERS THAT I LOVE, I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO ANYBODY! MY GODSON IS SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND I DON’T WANT TO LOOK AT HIM! I’M TICKED OFF!”

“AND SEAN FARNHAM ON GET UP THIS MORNING WITH MIKE GREENBERG, HIM AND HIS BENEDICT ARNOLD SELF, WALKING AROUND HAVING SHOWS ON TELEVISION IN THE MORNING, ACTING LIKE THIS IS A GOOD DAY TO JUST LAUGH. IT’S ALWAYS A LAUGH WITH THE NEW YORK KNICKS FOR NON-NEW YORK KNICKS FANS! I THOUGHT MIKE GREENBERG WAS A GOOD MAN! I THOUGHT HE WAS A PERSON THAT DIDN’T LIKE TO WATCH PEOPLE SUFFER! AND THEN THAT DAMN PABLO OUT THERE WITH BOMANI, HE’S STANDING IN THE HALLWAY LAUGHING AT ME TOO! THIS IS NOT FUNNY! IT’S NOT FUNNY! THIS IS A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE DAY! I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF YOUS, I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF YOUS, BUT IF YOU ARE A KNICK FAN, THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF BEING KIDNAPPED, STORED IN A BASEMENT, BEING TORTURED AND THEY LET YOU OUT WHEN YOU ARE NO USE TO ANYBODY! IF YOU ARE NOT A KNICKS FAN, YOU MAKE ME SICK! I DON’T LIKE ANY OF YOUS, ANY OF YOUS!”

That one’s particularly crazy, and Smith should know that sports references to kidnapping and basements often end poorly. But the sum total of the histrionics from Smith here gives him our hottest take this week. What’s really impressive is that he still has a voice after all this.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Honorable mention: It’s not actually a hot take, but Max Kellerman cutting a Scott Steiner math promo (except with math where the numbers actually add up) and Smith still finding ways to argue about it deserves more attention:

Hot Take Standings:

Jason Whitlock – Hall of Fame
Stephen A. Smith – 247
Skip Bayless – 207
Phil Mushnick – 186
Colin Cowherd – 84
Rob Parker – 59
Doug Gottlieb – 53
Shannon Sharpe – 38
Don Cherry – 30
Albert Breer – 29
Dan Shaughnessy – 26
Darren Rovell – 25
Ray Lewis – 25
Mike Francesa – 24
Charles Barkley – 24
Danny Kanell – 24
Britt McHenry – 20
JT The Brick – 20
Andy Benoit – 18
Dan Dakich – 18
Chris Broussard – 17
Michael DeCourcy – 16
Jason McIntyre – 16
Tony Massarotti – 15
Ben Maller – 15
Bill Plaschke – 14
Keith Olbermann – 13
Jason Smith – 13
Kirk Herbstreit – 13
Mike Felger – 13
The Sporting News – 13
Rick Morrissey – 13
Michael Wilbon – 12
Michael Rapaport – 11
John Middlekauff – 11
Steve Simmons – 10
Christine Flowers – 10
Jeff Schultz – 10
Greg Gabriel – 10
Rob Rossi – 10
Bill James – 10
Joe Simpson – 10
Bob Brookover – 10
Jeremy Roenick – 10
Berry Tramel – 10
Kristine Leahy – 10
Max Kellerman – 9
Graham Couch – 9
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo – 9
Ross Tucker – 9
Ryen Russillo – 9
Garth Crooks – 9
C.J. Nitkowski – 9
Bob Ford – 8
John Feinstein – 8
Frank Isola – 8
Bart Hubbuch – 8
Will Cain – 7
Howard Eskin – 7
Trent Dilfer – 7
Damien Cox – 7
Mike Bianchi – 7
Cris Carter – 7
Pat Forde – 7
Peter King – 6
Charley Casserly – 6
The Wall Street Journal – 6
Pat Leonard – 6
Luke Kerr-Dineen – 6
Terry Bradshaw – 6
Greg A. Bedard – 6
Merril Hoge – 5
Jonathan Allen – 5
Dean Blevins – 5
Tony Rizzo – 5
Paul Sullivan – 5
Dan Wolken – 5
Dan Clark  – 5
Paul Daugherty  – 5
Michael Kay – 5
Tom Jones – 5
Mark Readings – 5
Neil Warnock – 5
Patrick Bet-David – 5
Jared Stillman – 5
Jen Rainwater – 5
Matt Walsh – 5
Jon Steinberg – 5
Bill Welt – 5
Jack Todd – 5
Aaron Murray – 5
Chris Childers – 5
Mark Knight – 5
The Herald Sun – 5
David Booth – 5
Tom Nichols – 5
Keith Hernandez – 5
Bill O’Reilly – 5
Brandel Chamblee – 5
Michael McCarthy – 5
Mike “The Reputation Doctor®” Paul – 5
Dennis Dodd – 5
Rich Lowry – 5
Chris Reed – 5
The San Diego Union-Tribune – 5
David Hookstead – 5
Tomm Looney – 5
Alex Shaw – 5
Rick Reilly – 5
Randall Mell – 5
Ian O’Connor – 5
Michael Bamberger – 5
Bob Bubka – 5
Cathal Kelly – 5
Pete Prisco – 5
Bill Simons – 5
Jason Lieser – 5
John Steigerwald – 5
Josh Peter – 5
Alexi Lalas – 5
John Moody – 5
Marni Soupcoff – 5
Ryan Rishaug – 5
Kurtis Larson – 5
Rod Watson – 5
Chuck Modiano – 5
Joel Klatt – 5
Steve Buffery – 5
Joe Morgan – 5
Nancy Armour – 5
Richard Justice – 5
Ameer Hasan Loggins – 5
Jesse Watters – 5
John McGrath – 5
Mike Sielski – 5
Gordon Monson – 5
Scott Fowler – 5
Terry Frei – 5
David Jones – 5
Sabrina Parr – 5
Abbey Mastracco – 5
Terry Cushman – 5
Rick Bozich – 5
Michael O’Doherty – 5
Simon Briggs – 5
Dan Wetzel – 5
Mike Parry – 5
Bob Ryan – 5
Robert Reed – 5
Pete Dougherty – 5
Dan Le Batard – 5
Marcus Hayes – 5
Kyle Turley – 5
Mike Ditka – 5
Erril Laborde – 5
Lowell Cohn – 5
Rosie DiManno – 5
Adam Schein – 4
Mike Florio – 4
Randal Grichuk – 4
Mike Schmidt – 4
Mike Bell – 4
Cody McDavis – 4
The New York Times – 4
Dan Crenshaw – 4
Mike Vaccaro – 4
Mike Klis – 4
Richard Keys – 4
Bruce Levine – 4
Malcolm Gladwell – 4
That’s Kappy – 4
Mitchell Nathanson – 4
The New York Daily News – 4
“Big” Jim Murray – 4
Jeff Diamond – 4
Marc Berman – 4
Evan Roberts – 4
Corbin Smith – 4
DJ Siddiqi – 4
The Express – 4
Mark Kiszla – 4
Greg Witter – 4
Myron Medcalf – 4
Bill Polian – 4
MJ Franklin – 4
Alex Reimer – 4
Joan Vennochi – 4
Matt Yglesias – 4
Bill Livingston – 4
Michael Irvin – 4
Shawn Windsor – 4
Brock Huard – 4
Byron Tau – 4
Maggie Gray – 4
Michael Powell – 4
Mark Spector – 4
Chad Forbes – 4
Gary Myers – 4
Mark Schlereth – 4
Andy Gray – 4
David Fleming – 4
Jeff Pearlman – 4
Tony Grossi – 4
FanSided – 4
Tony Kornheiser – 4
USA Today – 4
Nathan Ruiz – 4
Dean Blandino – 3
Gary Bettman – 3
Chris Torello – 3
Aaron Taylor – 3
Undisputed producers – 3
Pete Thamel – 3
John Kincade – 3
Brian Burke – 3
Doug Russell  – 3
Carl Steward  – 3
Jerry Coleman – 3
Jon Johnson  – 3
Trey Wingo – 3
Lance Zierlein – 3
Michael Salfino – 3
Tom Van Riper – 3
Andy Katz – 3
Tony La Russa  – 3
Jim Brady – 3
Bill Simmons – 3
Mark Teixeira – 3
Wally Hall – 3
Damien Woody – 3
Victor Cruz – 3
Andrew Walker – 3
Jim Kaat – 3
Jason Gay – 3
Steven J. Brams – 3
Aaron Isaksen – 3
Will Muschamp – 3
Buck Lanford – 3
Stan Fischler – 3
Sonnie Wooden – 3
Chris Jones – 3
Kelly Smith – 3
Reggie Miller – 3
Mark Madden – 3
Larry Brooks – 3
Dan Canova – 3
Steve Rosenbloom – 3
Stephen Jackson – 3
Mike Sando – 3
Walt Borla – 3
Nick Cafardo – 3
Ice Cube – 3
Justin Peters – 3
Elise Finch – 3
Kevin Skiver – 3
David Bahnsen – 3
Harold Reynolds – 3
Kevin Reynolds – 3
Mike Sheahan – 3
Steve Greenberg – 3
Matt Burke – 3
Malcolm Gladwell – 3
Mike Milbury – 3
Mac Engel – 3
Nick Kypreos – 3
Caron Butler – 3
Don Brennan – 3
Robert Tychkowski – 3
Mike Johnston – 3
Jeff Mans – 3
Joe Browne – 3
Mike Harrington – 3
Greg Mitchell – 3
Michael Schmidt – 2
Bob Nightengale – 2
Pierre McGuire – 2
The Palm Beach Post – 2
Karl Ravech – 2
Dari Nowkah – 2
Ella Dorsey – 2
The Hill – 2
John Kindt – 2
Bill Madden – 2
Tony Gonzalez – 2
Mike Greenberg – 2
Grant Paulsen – 2
Jeff Ermann – 2
Ed Werder – 2
Ben Mulroney – 2
Ron Cook – 2
Brian Kenny – 2
Barrett Sallee – 2
Craig Calcaterra – 2
Gareth Wheeler – 2
John Cornyn – 2
Tony Dungy – 2
Bruce Jenkins – 2
Chris Wesseling – 2
Seth Greenberg – 2
Doug Smith – 2
Newsweek – 2
Teddy Cutler – 2
Bill Cowher – 2
Paul Finebaum – 2
Amin Elhassan – 2
Jim Henneman – 2
Mitch Lawrence – 2
Nick Wright – 2
Domonique Foxworth – 2
Gary Parrish – 2
Michael Farber – 2
Andy Furman – 2
Donovan McNabb – 2
Seth Davis – 2
Jon Heyman – 2
Jason La Canfora – 2
Booger McFarland – 2
Joe Schad – 2
Cork Gaines – 2

Thanks for reading! Tune in next week for more This Week In Hot Takes. As always, you can send submissions to me via e-mail or on Twitter.

 

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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