Bill O'Reilly topped the hot take charts for Aug 3-9.

Welcome to another edition of This Week In Hot Takes! This time, we’re looking at all the hottest sports media takes from August 3-9. Let’s get to it.

5. Doug Gottlieb says “there’s no difference between” Kevin Durant and Donald Trump because…both spend time engaging with critics on Twitter. 

After promising that a particular segment wasn’t going to be about politics, Fox Sports Radio’s Doug Gottlieb spent over two and a half minutes talking about how great he thinks Donald Trump’s presidency has been for the U.S. economy. He then dove into Trump’s Twitter behavior and said that’s the primary reason Trump is unpopular, and then compared him to Kevin Durant:

“So many of the things [Trump]e does, it’s about the tweets he sends out. If somebody took away his Twitter or he only tweeted “The economy” every day, there’s really no competition out there for him. Know who that is in sports? It’s Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant has won two straight Finals MVPs, he’s won two NBA championships, he also has a previous league MVP. He’s in one of the top 10 cities in the entire world in San Francisco, he is revered for his talent, in fact, his pull-up shot as a seven-footer is widely regarded as an unstoppable weapon…”

“I believe that Kevin Durant is the best player in the NBA. Why isn’t he viewed as such? Is it because he left the Thunder and went to the Warriors, who had won 73 games and beaten the Thunder? A little bit. But the truth is, trying to fight every fight on social media and trying to clap back at people, first he had the burner account and then his own account. There’s no difference between the two [Trump and Durant]. Both should be revered! Both should be celebrated!”

It’s one thing to say you’re not going to talk politics and then spend over two minutes doing exactly that (and those particular takes that Trump has been great for the economy and only is criticized for his social media use are both highly political), and it’s another still to compare Durant to someone he’s often criticized in Trump just because he also engages critics on Twitter. Criticizing Durant’s Twitter usage is one thing, and discussing that particular approaches may not always be the best for him is fair, but it’s silly to say that critics should be able to say what they want and Durant shouldn’t be able to respond. And saying that Durant wouldn’t be criticized if not for his social media use is ridiculous, as a lot of the criticism lobbed at him has nothing to do with that. But it’s comparing Durant to Trump that’s particularly silly; there are many people who engage their critics on Twitter, including Gottlieb himself from time to time. That doesn’t make them like Trump.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥

4. Ray Lewis claims crime dropped in Baltimore when he played: Lewis, the FS1 analyst who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend, had quite the take on his own impact:

Lewis played in Baltimore from 1996 to 2012, and the statistics do not appear to back him up; there was a decline in homicides from 2007-2011, but it spiked again in 2012. So unsurprisingly, “whether Ray Lewis is playing for the Ravens” does not seem to be a major predictor of crime levels in Baltimore. (He’s made this argument before and extended it to all football players,  claiming that the 2011 NFL lockout would cause increased crime nationally if it lasted into the regular season.) But hey, when Lewis was playing, at least one man charged with two counts of murder who pled guilty to obstruction of justice wasn’t on the street…

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

3. Brandel Chamblee claims Tiger Woods “got the least out of his talent of any player in history,” would have won more if he hadn’t worked out: Golf Channel analyst Chamblee is known for some hot takes, especially on Tiger. After all, he’s the guy who gave Tiger a “F” for a five-win season in 2013 over minor rules violations and compared that to cheating on a test, leading to lawsuit threats from Tiger’s camp. He also blamed Tiger for the U.S.’ Ryder Cup struggles in 2016, leading to a heated on-air argument with David Duval. And this week, Chamblee was at it again, first on the Golf Digest podcast:

“I would argue he got the least out of his talent of any player, maybe in history.” That’s an incredibly bold claim to make about someone who has won 14 majors, more than anyone but Jack Nicklaus, and is second all-time with 79 PGA Tour wins. (By contrast, Chamblee has just one PGA Tour win, in 1998 at the Greater Vancouver Open.) But Chamblee went on to argue that Tiger should have won “twenty-five, 30 major championships and 100-plus events” based on talent alone. Right. Oh, and Chamblee had the best possible argument as to why Tiger didn’t actually do that in a later interview on The Dan Patrick Show:

Yeah, that was clearly the problem. Never mind that Tiger’s intense fitness regimen was a huge part of what let him hit farther than much of the competition, and was absolutely crucial to his success. But sure, he never should have touched a weight.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

2. Joe Simpson questions Juan Soto’s age: Braves’ TV analyst Joe Simpson is at it again. A week after going after the Dodgers for wearing t-shirts and shorts in batting practice (and winding up in this column as a result), Simpson is back on it, this time questioning if Washington Nationals’ outfielder Juan Soto is really 19.

“If he’s 19, he has certainly got his man growth. He is big and strong.” There is no evidence that Soto isn’t 19, and Simpson was deservedly called out by the world for this:

Simpson also was confronted about this by Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo between games of the doubleheader, and backed off a bit in the second game, saying Soto was “a bonafide 19.” But raising this was ridiculous, and there’s a case that Soto might even be able to sue over Simpson’s remarks. (He’s unlikely to, but still.) And the Dominican Prospect League wasn’t happy either, calling for Simpson to recuse himself from a game, or for the Braves or MLB to step in:

So that is quite the take.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

1. Bill O’Reilly says LeBron James should “go to Chicago and help the poor people there who are experiencing unprecedented violence”: James’ opening of a public school in Akron created a whole bunch of takes, especially after President Trump weighed in to bash James (and CNN interviewer Don Lemon) and the sports world fired back. Former Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly had quite the take on this himself, saying that it’s not good enough for James to help kids in Akron, as he needs to go solve Chicago’s problems too:

O’Reilly’s actual piece here is paywalled, and we’re certainly not paying to read it, but that general thesis is dumb. And he was dunked on rather hard for this:

BOR.com indeed. Home of all the spiciest takes.

Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Hot Take Standings: 

Jason Whitlock – Hall of Fame
Stephen A. Smith – 208
Skip Bayless – 183
Phil Mushnick – 142
Colin Cowherd – 66
Rob Parker – 44
Doug Gottlieb – 41
Shannon Sharpe – 35
Ray Lewis – 25
Albert Breer – 23
Britt McHenry – 20
JT The Brick – 20
Charles Barkley – 19
Dan Shaughnessy – 17
Ben Maller – 15
Don Cherry – 15
Bill Plaschke – 14
Chris Broussard – 13
Dan Dakich – 13
Rick Morrissey – 13
Darren Rovell – 12
John Middlekauff – 11
Andy Benoit – 11
Tony Massarotti – 11
Jason McIntyre – 11
Michael DeCourcy – 11
Keith Olbermann – 11
Joe Simpson – 10
Danny Kanell – 10
Bob Brookover – 10
Jeremy Roenick – 10
Berry Tramel – 10
Kristine Leahy – 10
The Sporting News – 9
Mike Francesa – 9
Ross Tucker – 9
Ryen Russillo – 9
Garth Crooks – 9
C.J. Nitkowski – 9
Steve Simmons – 8
Frank Isola – 8
Michael Rapaport – 8
Bart Hubbuch – 8
Cris Carter – 7
Pat Forde – 7
Pat Leonard – 6
Luke Kerr-Dineen – 6
Terry Bradshaw – 6
Greg A. Bedard – 6
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
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
Damien Cox – 5
Bill Simons – 5
Christine Flowers – 5
Jason Lieser – 5
John Steigerwald – 5
Josh Peter – 5
Alexi Lalas  – 5
Greg Gabriel  – 5
John Moody  – 5
Marni Soupcoff – 5
Ryan Rishaug – 5
Kurtis Larson  – 5
Rod Watson  – 5
Dan Wolken – 5
Chuck Modiano – 5
Joel Klatt – 5
Steve Buffery – 5
Joe Morgan – 5
Michael Felger – 5
Howard Eskin – 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
Mike Bianchi – 5
Terry Frei – 5
David Jones – 5
Sabrina Parr – 5
Abbey Mastracco – 5
Terry Cushman – 5
Rob Rossi – 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
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
Graham Couch – 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
Kirk Herbstreit – 4
Tony Kornheiser – 4
Mike Felger – 4
USA Today op-eds – 4
Nathan Ruiz – 4
Buck Lanford – 3
John Feinstein – 3
Stan Fischler – 3
Sonnie Wooden – 3
Chris Jones – 3
Kelly Smith – 3
Michael Wilbon – 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
Chris Russo  – 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
Bob Ford – 3
Steve Greenberg – 3
Matt Burke – 3
Malcolm Gladwell – 3
Mike Milbury – 3
Mac Engel – 3
Nick Kypreos – 3
Jason Smith – 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
Ed Werder  – 2
Ben Mulroney – 2
Ron Cook – 2
Brian Kenny – 2
Barrett Sallee – 2
Craig Calcaterra – 2
Max Kellerman – 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
Will Cain – 2
Bill Cowher – 2
Paul Finebaum – 2
Charley Casserly – 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.