Dan Zaksheske
Videos by OutKick
Last week on ESPN’s First Take, host Molly Qerim asked Stephen A. Smith and guest host Michael Kay which New York team would win a championship first. Kay suggested the NHL’s New York Rangers.
Stephen A. immediately insisted that the Rangers “didn’t count.”
OutKick’s Matt Reigle reported on the segment, pointing out the absurdity of Smith’s comments. He made those remarks on ESPN, a network that is the NHL’s biggest broadcast partner.
WATCH:
Stephen A. Smith tries to make amends with NHL by posting cringeworthy video
Surely, Smith’s comments didn’t go over well at NHL HQ. Here is Smith, one of ESPN’s most recognizable voices on one of ESPN’s biggest shows saying that NHL championships “don’t count.”
For the first time ever, the NHL probably wished First Take continued to pretend the league doesn’t even exist.
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It seems someone got in Smith’s ear about it, too. Maybe it was his good buddy, Gary Bettman (Smith’s words).
Either way, Smith posted a super cringe “Let’s Go Rangers” video and tried to explain his comments.
So, earlier in the day the only thing he knew about hockey was that “the puck is black” but now he’s an expert on Patrick Kane? Spare me.
Michael Kay, the man who stirred up the drama with his off-script answer about the Rangers, said on his own radio show that the NHL was “red hot” about Smith’s remarks.
This revelation came after co-host Peter Rosenberg said that “a lot of hockey fans were upset” by Smith’s flippant statements.
Of course the NHL is mad and, of course, Stephen A. Smith has to pretend to care.
It’s so shocking that Smith’s uniformed comments would cause an issue. That never happens.
Oh, wait.
Follow Dan Zaksheske on Twitter: @OutkickDanZ
