Latest news with #ESPNFirstTake
USA Today
17-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
1 analyst thinks Aaron Rodgers is why the Steelers passed on Shedeur Sanders
1 analyst thinks Aaron Rodgers is why the Steelers passed on Shedeur Sanders It's been three weeks since the 2025 NFL draft ended but ESPN's campaign to turn back time and make quarterback Shedeur Sanders a first-round pick is still going strong. Their latest opportunity to carry the water for Sanders came via ESPN First Take, thanks to Ryan Clark and Stephen A. Smith. And of course, they had to drag the Pittsburgh Steelers into it. Clark even went so far as to say that, based on four rookie minicamp practices, he was right about Sanders and that the Steelers made a mistake passing on him in the first round. Four practices. In shorts. Basically against air. Clark practically sprained his wrist trying to pat himself on the back for nothing. Clark went on to say that even if Sanders had slid all the way to the seventh round, the Steelers wouldn't have drafted him. He sounded very certain of this, but after being asked to elaborate multiple times, he refused to offer any reasoning behind such a strong declaration. The closest he got was to possibly infer that the team knows Aaron Rodgers was coming and said that Rodgers wouldn't want to be the second-most-famous quarterback on the team. And he said it with a straight face.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Thinks Stephen A. Smith Has a Shot at the Presidency
Donald Trump has put his name down on the list of people who want Stephen A. Smith to run for president. Trump phoned in to a special edition of NewsNation's Cuomo Town Hall Wednesday night that featured a variety of broadcast personalities, including Smith, who earlier this year floated the idea of a presidential run. As the hosts asked Trump if he had any advice for the sports commentator, Smith shook his head and buried his face in his palm. 'I've been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you I'd love to see him run,' Trump said of Smith, whom he described as a 'good' and 'smart' guy. 'He's got great entertainment skills, which is very important,' Trump said. 'People watch him. You know, a lot of these Democrats I watch [and] I say they have no chance.' In March, Smith expressed confidence that he could beat out other big names being floated as possible Democratic presidential candidates, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 'I make of it that citizens, particularly on the left, are desperate,' he said at the time after polling showed that voters were interested in him running. 'And I mean it when I say it: I think I can beat them all.' A month later, the ESPN First Take host said it was time to 'stop messing around' as he announced that he was no longer ruling out the idea of running for president. 'Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess,' he said on X. 'So I'm officially leaving all doors open.' In an interview earlier this month with ABC News' This Week, Smith said he changed his mind after elected officials, pundits, billionaires, and even his own pastor all encouraged him to explore a presidential campaign. Smith also told ABC that he was so far unsatisfied with what he had been seeing from Trump. 'This whole tariff war situation is utterly ridiculous,' he said. 'There doesn't appear to be a plan. Let's be very clear about that. It seems to be a bit very haphazard, and you know it's just thrown against the wall to see what will stick. But in the end, you know, what you have to applaud them for is for trying something.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Stephen A. Smith Accuses Ex-76ers $177 Million Star of 'Stealing Money'
The Philadelphia 76ers did not have the season that they expected before the year started. The expectations were high after the free agency they had, and signing Paul George to be a big three alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey was supposed to take them to the next level. To end the season, none of those players were on the court for the 76ers because of injuries. The 76ers finished 24-58 and 13th in the Eastern Conference this season, and the hope is that they can come back healthy next season and dominate. They've had some major changes happen throughout the past few years as they try to stay amongst the top of the East, and one of them was trading away Ben Simmons. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN First Take set at the CFP Fan Central at the George World Congress Lee-Imagn Images Years later and Simmons is now on the Los Angeles Clippers, where he's coming off the bench. Before the playoffs started, Ty Lue said that he had to remind Simmons to be aggressive and look to score when he's on the court, something that he struggled with when he was on the 76ers. Advertisement Stephen A. Smith caught wind of Lue's comments and didn't have anything nice to say about Simmons. "The fact that Ty Lue said what he said is just more evidence that Ben Simmons has been stealing money," Smith said on First Take. Simmons signed a five-year, $177 million deal with the 76ers in 2020, and some would say that he didn't live up to the contract due to his lack of aggressiveness on the court, and he also dealt with injuries. Simmons was waived by the Nets this season and signed with the Clippers. Related: 76ers Get Good News on 6-Time All-Star
