Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith
Born	(1968-10-14) October 14, 1968 Hollis, Queens, New York City, New York
Other names	Stephen A, Screamin' A, Stephen Anal (from Peter Vecsey)
Occupation(s)	Sports journalist, television host, radio host

Stephen Abe Smith (born October 14, 1968) is a sportswriter and media personality from Hollis, Queens in New York City.

Early years

Smith was raised in the Hollis neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. He lived with his parents and four older sisters.

He attended Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While in college, he played some basketball under hall of fame coach Clarence Gaines, however he later wrote an article for the university newspaper suggesting that Gaines retire due to health issues.

Career

Print media

In 1993, Smith was a sportswriter for the Daily News in New York City.

Since 1994, Smith has had a position as a writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was initially a general sportswriter for the Inquirer before he gained positions as their reporter for the Philadelphia 76ers as their NBA columnist, and eventually, as a general sports columnist. On August 23, 2007, the Inquirer announced that Smith would no longer be writing columns and would instead be demoted back to the position of general assignment reporter. Prior to his job with the Inquirer, Smith has had positions with the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and Record and the New York Daily News. In 2008, the Inquirer ended its relation with Smith, which coincided with Smith having to start his own blog.

Radio

On April 11, 2005, Smith became the host of a weekday noon to 2 p.m. radio show on WEPN in New York City with his "right hand man B.T. (Brandon Tierney)". On September 20, 2007, his radio show was shifted to the 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. slot, with the second hour being broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio, replacing The Dan Patrick Show (Mike Tirico took over the first two hours). The show came to an end in April 2008 as Smith sought to expand his career in television, and beginning May 1 Scott Van Pelt began hosting in the 3-4 PM hour that was previously Smith's.

Television

Smith started his television career on the now-defunct cable network CNN/SI in 1999, and quickly adapted to a basic rule of television panel discussions: that the loudest, the most argumentative, even the rudest voice will get the most attention.

Smith is frequently seen as a basketball analyst and talk show host on ESPN. In August 2005, he started hosting a daily hour-long show on ESPN called Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. After the show was cancelled in January 2007, he mainly concentrated on basketball, serving as an NBA analyst.

Smith has appeared on other ESPN shows as well, including the reality series Dream Job, as well as a frequent guest (and guest host) on Pardon the Interruption, Jim Rome is Burning and as a popular participant on 1st and 10. He has appeared as an anchor on the Sunday morning edition of SportsCenter, but on April 17, 2009 announced on his website that he would be leaving ESPN on May 1, 2009. The Los Angeles Times reported that ESPN commented that, "We decided to move in different directions."

Smith appeared on MSNBC on Wednesday July 8 and 9, 2009 as a special commentator on the Michael Jackson memorial funeral service. He provided a unique commentary on the choice of public funding for the celebration contrasted to the victory parade after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship. Smith has recently become a regular guest on the MSNBC's Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan.

Acting career

Smith made his acting debut in a cameo appearance as a television reporter on the February 2, 2007 episode on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Later that year, he appeared in the Chris Rock motion picture I Think I Love My Wife, during a double-date scene. [1]

External links

• Official website
• Stephen's most recent columns from the Philadelphia Inquirer
• ESPN Quite Frankly
• Stephen A. Smith at IMDb