Watching right now. Stephen A interveiwing Allen Iverson in front of an audience talk show style. Very serious. Not what you guys expected. Its actually one of the best athlete interveiws I've seen. Allen actually got choked up talking about his days with Larry Brown.
I have to say i do't watch espn anymore like i used to. I think i only watch it if there is a game on the channel or Sports Center. The rest of the shows and stuff are starting to get on my nerves. Hopefully his won't last long.
OMG.. I hate him sooooo MUCH, but I agree with pgabriel it was one of the best basketball interviews I HAVE EVER SEEN... Damn you SAS, why cant you suck so it makes it easy to hate you?? EDIT- sas asked AI who in the NBA next to him has the most heart and he said a few names along with T-Mac..
I'm in the minority here I understand, but I find Stephen A. Smith an entertaining listen because of the attitude, the confidence. I find him compelling and and I like his quick, no spin answers to topics.
I disliked SAS in the beginning, but after listening to him and understanding him, I really like him now. He just puts on a show, that is his camera personality, he doesn't mean anything by it, just his way of getting his point across. And he definitely knows basketball. Plus all the players seem to respect him and give him good interviews, that says a whole lot right there. I like the guy.
I decided I was being unfair in my hatred towards him and decided to TiVO the show to give it a shot. I'll post my thoughts after watching later tonight.
Just because you're a minority in this situation, it doesn't make you wrong. ...It's liking Stephen A. Smith that makes you wrong.
Judging by the first show, its gonna last long. I guarantee you, people who saw this will overwhelmingly say it was a great interview. The only thing is how many interviews can you do before you run out of interesting guest. Tomorow he's interveiwing Charlie Weis, the new Notre Dame coach former Patriots offensive coordinator.
I've only watched about 10 minutes so far, but it does seem like a good interview with AI. That still doesnt change the fact that I think SAS acts like a complete idiot most of the time.
I'm watching it now and I have not yet formed an opinion, but I have a few comments: I notice some are saying his interview with Iverson is pretty incredible and that this show will last b/c of his interviewing skills. I offer a rebuttal given the fact that the "great interview" (I'm only 20% into the show so far, so I can't judge yet) has more to do with the fact that SAS has had a long and personal relationship with Iverson. I can't see all of his interviews going into such depth and detail about each guest's professional and personal lives, since he won't know all of them so well. Furthermore, there's no way this can last as an hour long show. There isn't enough material for 60 minutes daily. I think "Rome is Burning" started as an hour show and finally cut back to 30 minutes b/c there just wasn't enough to fill that much time. back to watching.,..
We'll see. A couple of things about your rebuttal. I do understand that he has been covering A.I. for A.I.'s entire career but he didn't delve into any subjects I've never seen concerning A.I. What made it great is he got A.I. to really open up and give a perspective of things that have gone on in his life that I really never heard. That's what makes a great interview especially in the information age when we alread know everything it is to know about these guys' lives. The second thing is this, Stephen A. is an accomplished journalist. I really doubt he would go into an interview not having a good understanding of his subject. People's vision of his journalist skills are clouded by the persona he portrays on the NBA show. The same thing goes for Skip Bayliss (sp). ESPN pays those guys to act a fool to entertain but it says nothing about their skills as journalist. I do agree that not every interview is gonna sustain an hour but this one does. But that is the only doubt I have about this show after seeing the first episode.
Alright, finsihed watching. Must say I was impressed with SAS and his interview skills. This calmer, more thoughtful SAS is something I might be able to get on board with. I wish he didn't feel the need to (or wasn't encouraged to) have this bombastic on-air persona, because he came across very good in this interview with AI. But I'll wait before I become a SAS fan. I am going to put this on my season pass list for Tivo, which says a LOT. I'll give him 2 weeks to win me over. if he reverts to his old, loud mouth style, i'm done with this man... for good.
i didn't like the studio audience at first, b/c it came across as a leno type monologue, with studio laughter... but the question and answer session with AI and fans at the end was great.
I got a question, what credibility does SAS have? Where did he come from, I understand he was probably a journalists for a newspaper, but that doesnt mean he knows the sport. Same with Peter Gammons, who the hell is he? What does he bring to the table when he himself hasnt played professional baseball.
Did he do all philly stories. Starts out with Owens and then move to Iverson. How about we just call it the Philly show. I left after Iverson came out. He looked uncomfortable out there all alone.
Peter Gammons bring BEING IN THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME to the table. He has been recognized by his peers as one of the greatest baseball writers of all time. Just because you have not played a sport professionally, does not prevent you from understanding it. Some of the worst sports journalists are former players (Magic Johnson, for example).
I hope you guys do realize how tight Iverson is with Smith. Let's see how Smith is doing in week 3 or a month from now before we label him the next Barbara Walters of sports.
