Stephen A. Smith Boasts About Only ‘Black Dudes’ Being On ‘First Take’ To Break Down The Stanley Cup Finals

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Stephen A. Smith’s wheelhouse, and therefore the wheelhouse of First Take — and, unfortunately, American sports news shows in general — is football and basketball. He knows this and everyone else in the sports world knows this.

Sometimes, though, given that First Take is a national, daily talk show, Smith will have to cover sports that he’s clearly not as educated on, notably, baseball, UFC, women’s basketball, and hockey.

With the NBA Finals done and dusted, the MLB season at its halfway point, ESPN not giving a damn about the Euros or the United States Men’s National Team in the Copa America, and the NFL yet to begin training camp, First Take finds itself at the peak of its quiet season.

Luckily for the show, however, the NHL is still kicking around as the Edmonton Oilers were able to force a seventh game in the 2024 Stanely Cup Finals after falling behind to the Florida Panthers 3-0.

On Monday, ahead of Game 7 in Florida, First Take opened the show with former NHL defenseman PK Subban to break down the game — Subban took the Panthers but said an Oilers win would instantly immortalize Connor McDavid — and SAS was downright giddy about the fact that there was “three Black dudes talking hockey” on ESPN.

“Guess who’s about to do that hockey, bro. It’s us! It’s us, baby! And guess what, Shay Shay, your boy is in Florida. I’m going to Game 7. I don’t know a damn thing about hockey other than the fact that the puck is black,” Stephen A. said at the top of the show.

“You talk about breaking news, look at this thing! Three Black dudes talking hockey! On national television! Only in America baby…Let’s do that hockey,” he continued when Subban was introduced.

Heading into Game 7 between the Oilers and Panthers, the result is a coin toss as far as the sportsbooks are concerned, as both teams enter the game with moneyline odds of -110.