STEPHEN A. SMITH SCREAMS AT WNBA WOMEN: 'STUPID! IDIOTIC!' CAITLIN CLARK OLYMPICS MOVE - TRACKER

JUNE 10 SCREAMIN' A. A debate about Caitlin Clark's snubbing by Team USA's women's basketball roster for the Summer Olympics turned into a high-volume shouting match on ESPN ... keyed by host Stephen A. Smith using his trademark fake outrage to inform two WNBA panelists that the decision is "stupid'' and "dumb'' and that the game's leaders are "idiotic.''

"It was a stupid decision,'' screamed Smith, "because it compromises what your ultimate goal is, which is to elevate the WNBA brand. How could you be that idiotic and not make that call, when throughout history, Team USA has been, in part, about marketing? It's dumb. Period!''

When Stephen A. says "period!'' we assume that's supposed to be the end of the discussion. But it's Caitlin Clark. And so like these shows' endless debate about the Dallas Cowboys and LeBron James ... this will not be the end of the discussion.

There is airtime to be filled. And it's only Monday.

JUNE 10 DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? Paul Pierce is excited. It's easy to see why, as his team, the Boston Celtics, is two wins away from winning the franchise's first championship since 2008 and tied for most in NBA history with 17.

However, in a moment of excitement and pure joy, he says he's in "the Garden," but the Celtics don't play in New York. The TD Garden in Boston is a great arena but pales compared to the legendary Madison Square Garden.

See the video here.

JUNE 9 KYRIE AS MEME What will be Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving's reward for honest introspection?

We're going to turn him into a joke, it seems.

Kyrie this weekend admitted that he "failed miserably" during his two-year run with the Boston Celtics from 2017 to 2019. ... the team his Mavs now oppose in the NBA Finals.

"I failed miserably, while also not knowing how to compartmentalize or accept the emotions that come with failure," Irving said. "And also being on the successful side, (I) didn't know how to handle that, either.'

Kyrie's behavior in Boston has made him Public Enemy No. 1 there in this series. That's part of sports. And nowaways? We note that a smart moment of frankness from Kyrie is only going to earn him more grief.

Because that's what we do, it seems.

JUNE 9 WRONG! No five-seed in NBA history has ended its season winning the NBA Finals, and to some that means the Dallas Mavericks are "playing with house money'' as they try to upset the Boston Celtics.

And that is the wrong mindset.

"Money'' is "money.'' There is no "free money'' or "found money.'' So while Dallas winning would mark the third-biggest Finals upset win in modern league history, "opportunity'' is "opportunity.''

And blowing that opportunity because a team thinks, "Aw, we already overachieved'' is a wasteful approach.

Does it mean the Mavs are "loose'' while the Celtics are "under pressure'' because they've been here so often? Apparently not, given that Boston crushed Luka Doncic's Mavs in Game 1.

Game 2 in Sunday night in Boston.

2024-06-10T18:48:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd