Stephen A. Smith Playing Solitaire During NBA Finals Is an All-Time Dumb Controversy

1. I’m gonna make this short and sweet. If you’re someone who got all bent out of shape because Stephen A. Smith was snapped playing solitaire on his phone during Game 4 of the NBA Finals, get help.

Do you think every NBA analyst or talking head watches every second of every game? Guess what? They don’t. It’s not like Smith left the building. The action was still right there in front of him while he was trying to dominate the four rows of suits on his phone.

If Smith was checking Twitter during the game, would that have been O.K.? What about Instagram? What about scrolling through TikTok? What if he was texting? When did it become a rule that people can’t be on their phones while at a sporting event? The last time I checked, pretty much everyone is on their phone at all times.

I get that this is an optics thing, but the reaction has been absurd. It was stunning to me that this became a thing over the weekend.

I saw people say Smith should be fired. I saw people say Smith’s solitaire playing is why he shouldn’t be part of ESPN’s NBA coverage. I saw someone say Smith playing solitaire is like a movie critic playing on their phone during a movie.

I don’t know exactly when Smith was playing solitaire, but the reaction made it seem like he was locked into moving aces to the top during the last two minutes of a tie game. You can easily play solitaire during the first quarter of an NBA game.

But this is what happens when you've signed a $100 million contract. Everyone is out to get you and multitasking on your phone suddenly becomes a crime.

Smith’s biggest crime is that he should skip the solitaire and stick to the New York Times games like Wordle and Connections.

2. This is an outstanding article about how the average sports fan is being priced out across the board.

3. Check the date on the tweet below. Bill Simmons predicted the Rafael Devers trade in 2022.

4. The radio call by Emilia Migliaccio Doran on SiriusXM of J.J. Spaun’s amazing shot to win the U.S. Open was well done with Doran first giving the details in a low-key manner before the electric finish.

5. Speaking of Spaun, his win led to a rare good moment on Twitter.

6. A brand new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Thursday morning and it’s an all-Mailbag edition followed by the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment with Sal Licata.

I answered all your questions about the NBA Finals ratings, the presentation of the NBA Finals by ESPN, the way the NBA drags out the NBA Finals schedule, NFL Network’s lack of respect for Good Morning Football, All-Star games, Brian Windhorst’s status with ESPN, Greg Olsen’s future, where the ESPN MLB package of games will end up, John Cena’s heel turn, the WWE controversy surrounding R-Truth, favorite late-night hosts, the best decade for pop culture and more.

Following the Mailbag, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the lack of juice for the NBA Finals, Netflix’s amazing docuseries, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, the appeal of Oz the Mentalist and the Savannah Bananas, the anniversary ofThe Sopranos' final episode and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: The full trailer for the new Naked Gun movie was released this morning and I’m just not sure about this one.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.