Matt Buckler: Stephen A. Smith pays price for being outrageous

Jul. 13—Stephen A. Smith has one job for ESPN — to make outrageous comments that get the viewing audience riled up.

That's not always a bad thing — cable TV is filled with bland commentators who would rather put you to sleep than get your blood pumping.

Smith talks so loudly, you couldn't sleep, even if you wanted to.

There are times, however, when he goes overboard — too much shock, and not enough substance.

Sometimes he runs out of the baseline and Monday was one of those occasions.

By now, everyone knows Smith created a rhubarb Monday when he said Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani isn't the correct person to be the face of baseball because he doesn't speak English and he needs an interpreter for his interviews.

Smith received the uproar that he wanted — but it was too big an uproar. Viewers and journalists attacked him for his insensitive and ignorant comments.

After making an unsuccessful attempt at damage control, Smith was forced to apologize, claiming that he never intended to offend any community, particularly the Asian community."

Then what was his intention — to build up the Stephen A. Smith brand and to justify his salary? Those are the two things that are outrageous — the size of his ego and the size of his paycheck.

But here's the bottom line — Smith got exactly what he wanted — a media fury.

For one day. Smith was the most talked-about broadcaster in TV — he even knocked Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols off the top spot on social media.

Smith's mission was accomplished. This time he went too far and was forced to backtrack.

But if you think he's going to change, your forgetting why ESPN made Smith its most prominent commentator.

It's not for his sports knowledge — it's for his ability to say controversial things.

ESPN doesn't want him to be knowledgeable. They just want him to be more outrageous than Skip Bayless on Fox Sports 1.

The fact that he talks loudly and quickly makes him sound even more outrageous.

ESPN got what it wanted — people talking about ESPN on social media.

And Smith got what he wanted — people talking about Smith on social media.

The person we really should be talking about on social media is Shohei Ohtani. After all, he's hit 33 home runs at the All-Star break and is one of the best pitchers in the game. You can't talk about him without mentioning Babe Ruth in the same sentence.

Maybe they couldn't find his interpreter.

ESPY eclipse

On a night where athletes are recognized for finishing first, ESPN's 2021 ESPY Awards finished last.

The ESPYs attracted 1.1 million viewers, which was dead last in Saturday's Nielsen ratings.

Tony Stewart's SRX racing series on CBS did better — at 1.33 million.

A rerun of "America's Got Talent" on NBC received more viewers.

Here's one theory on why the ESPYs were ignored by the viewers — for the most obvious reason of them all — the ESPYs were unwatchable.

The highlight clips were shown at such a dizzying speed that it was hard to digest what you were watching.

It's as if the ESPN DVR had only one speed — fast forward.

There were also far too many political statements. Winners of the Emmys and Oscars get criticized for bringing politics into their acceptance speeches.

At the ESPYs, it seems like it's a requirement for winning. UConn's Paige Bueckers' statement on Black female athletes not getting the media attention they deserve was a perfect example.

It was a great speech. But it seemed out of place.

The fact that the winners know they've won before the envelope is open also takes some of the spontaneity out of the show. A night that should be a celebration turned into a night of political speeches. It was more like a convention than an award show.

The ESPYs finished last for a reason — it deserved to be there.

Cedric the host

Usually when a network is the rotating home of the Emmy Awards, the host is affiliated with that network. ABC had the awards last year, and its late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, was in charge.

The last time CBS had the Emmy Awards, its late-night host, Stephen Colbert, was the host.

CBS has the Emmys again in 2021 and has kept the tradition alive of selecting one of its own stars to host.

Cedric the Entertainer, the star of CBS' "The Neighborhood" — and many a Bud Light commercial — will be the man doing the opening monologue.

This year he'll be appearing in front of a live audience, instead of the virtual format that was used last year.

That means this year's Emmys will have a sound track — laughter. We might not know any of the nominees, but at least we know the host.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.