Sincerity, the late Ch. 9 showbiz show host Joe Franklin would lecture, is the most important thing to demonstrate in any business. “You’ll go nowhere,” he insisted, “without sincerity.
“And once you learn how to fake sincerity …”
Successfully applied, sincerity is often a matter of choosing one’s spots. Veteran, skillful NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. is selectively sincere, but by now knows he can get away with it due to an equally selective media.
So, following the revelation of Giants placekicker Josh Brown’s diary admission to being a serial wife abuser, an appalled Smith hopped into his Great Avenger outfit and with charm and sensitivity publicly encouraged Brown’s violence to be answered with violence.
Of Brown, Smith semi-coherently posted on Twitter, “You know what if your ex-wife was my daughter yo ASS would be on IR.”
Though Smith has earned praise for his work on behalf of abused women, given the dozens of opportunities to issue such responses toward NFL players who have brutalized women, his previous comments have been much more tame than his latest — aimed at a placekicker.
His public criticism of ex-teammate Greg Hardy, convicted of assaulting, strangling and imprisoning his ex-girlfriend before charges were later dropped, was mild — Smith only noting that he disapproves based on his mother being a victim of domestic violence — and didn’t occur until Hardy became an ex-teammate.
Smith didn’t issue any direct or implied threats of violence as the avenger of Hardy’s ex-girlfriend.
Nor did he when he tweeted this in response to the Ray Rice incident in 2014: “You know its not that hard get!!!! Keep your damn hands off women!!!! God made women for you to Lean on them Not beat on them#RealTalk”
It is not as if Smith has been short on opportunities to name names and issue suggestions for violent retribution. According to Sports Illustrated, “from Jan. 1, 2012, to Sept 17, 2014, 33 NFL players were arrested on charges involving domestic violence, battery, assault and murder. … At least 15 of those players were arrested for violence against women.”
But in Brown, a placekicker who has earned no more public disgust than the rest, Smith has found his bête noir.
On other social matters, Smith benefits from a selective, pandering media.
In 2002, he was involved in two separate fights with Panthers’ teammates, fracturing the orbital bone of one, for which he was arrested, briefly jailed and suspended for one game.
In 2008 he again was suspended, this time for two games following a fight during which he broke a teammate’s nose.
But he made the most of his second suspension time by taping a “SportsCenter” promo, Smith being ESPN’s type of guy. This year Smith was selected to be a semi-regular on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” radio/TV simulcast.
And just last year he was ejected from a preseason season game for fighting — which, again, pandering TV shot-callers found charming, warmly reporting that Smith’s son expressed his tweeted joy that he finally was able to watch an NFL game with his dad — on the occasion of his father’s expulsion from it.
And Steve Smith, no questions asked, no unpleasant, contradictory history cited, qualifies as a national spokesman on right from wrong. But that’s the bag we’re in.
Sincerely yours.
Indians play the good kind of ‘dirty’ baseball
Is there a baseball team easier to root for than Cleveland’s? They seem to enjoy one another, support one another and don’t mind getting their uniforms dirty — genuine throwback jerseys!
On the other hand, Joe Maddon’s Cubs, good as they’ve been, often don’t seem to play with the kind of devotion-to-winning expected from a Maddon team.
Five times this postseason, Cubs were seen foolishly, senselessly languishing near home plate, watching, when they should have been running on contact. Three times Javier Baez did so, once each from Kris Bryant and Dexter Fowler.
Football continues to be spoken and explained by experts in terms and stats that have little-to-nothing to do with reality.
Before Monday’s game against the Cardinals, Jets receiver Brandon Marshall led the NFL with five dropped passes. But that didn’t prevent ESPN’s Sean McDonough, who should know better, from emphasizing Ryan Fitzpatrick’s poor QB passing rating.
Dropped passes, those deflected or tipped by receivers into interceptions and those thrown away to avoid a loss continue to be the sole statistical fault of QBs. A 2-yard pass completion that starts a 78-yard TD run? That’s registered as an 80-yard TD pass. What an arm!
Why is “deferring” after winning the coin toss — to defer means to postpone, not choose — to choose to field the second-half kickoff a matter of “faith in their defense”?
That faith is gone come the third quarter? Choosing to start the second half with the ball is only a matter of preference.
Sponsor adds to the pot
How is Rob Manfred, team owners and the MLBPA going to handle players busted for marijuana when MLB has signed a three-year contract extension with Scott’s lawn products — while Scott’s is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in marijuana cultivation and development pot-growing equipment and pot-specific fertilizer?
Might be a good question, too, for Cal Ripken, Jr. — who, when not analyzing MLB postseason games for TBS from near a munchies stand, is the paid promotions man for the MLB-Scott’s partnership.
Another week of bad guesses spoken as fact by “Let’s Be Honest” Mike Francesa. The best/worst from the self-anointed NFL insider who claims to miss nothing, was that he missed the impossible to miss:
Monday night in Arizona and nationally televised on ESPN, on occasion the Jets used defensive end Sheldon Richardson as an inside linebacker on run blitzes designed to stop Arizona runner David Johnson. Francesa pompously told a caller (peon) that it never happened.
And not that he ever would bring it up, but since Francesa declared the Bills dead and buried at 0-2, they’ve won four straight.
Oh, and Francesa knocked Odell Beckham Jr. as far too self-centered. That’s right, this town isn’t big enough for two!
Follow the money: What a pity that MSG Network forces a decent man such as Sam Rosen into shilling for bad-bets DraftKings. Jimmy Dolan’s Garden has a large stake in the rotten-odds gambling operation.
NBC, at halftime of Stanford-Notre Dame two Saturdays ago, showed a sudden interest in a college marching band, even leaving its studio to show one. It was Notre Dame’s, and it had formed the NBC peacock, a salute to Notre Dame’s $15 million per deal with NBC to televise Notre Dame home games.
Even if Clayton Kershaw hadn’t pitched a beauty that shouldn’t have been missed — especially by kids — there was no good reason other than TV’s purchased authority for Game 2 of Dodgers-Cubs to have started at 8:10 p.m. EDT, instead of 7:05, last Sunday.
Rob Manfred, stop servicing team owners’ bottom lines and start taking care of our game!