The feud between Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith got a little deeper on Saturday.
During an appearance on All The Smoke, Owens took the time to address the situation, accusing Smith of trying to attack his character:
He's used his platform to really kind of tarnish and attack my character and who I am as a person. So regardless of however he started his monologue and his thing with his podcast trying to build me up to break me down, we all see through that. And all the people he's talking about that has reached out... who gives a s--t? I've had people that have reached out to me, players as well, and some of the people he thinks are cool with him, they're not cool with him.
During Monday's episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith said that his feud with Owens stems from the fact that the former wideout attempted to sue him at one point in time. It was widely believed that the two had beef stemming from an exchange with former First Take co-host Max Kellerman.
"We stopped talking because after you saw that hit from Max Kellerman, Terrell Owens tried to sue me," Smith said. "He had lawyers contact ESPN, who obviously contacted me, to try and sue me. Needless to say, it was laughable. It never went anywhere. He wasn't getting a damn dime which he was hoping to get. That's why I was pissed off Saturday, because we haven't spoken since then because he tried to sue me."
Owens allegedly accused Smith of making an off-the-record conversation public, Smith said on his podcast. Off-the-record conversations are meant to be kept private and not shared publicly.
Smith denied it, saying he has "never done that in my career," but Owens was quick to respond via X, formerly known as Twitter:
Owens' ongoing feud with Smith began when the ESPN personality commented on a post that included a video of the wide receiver's appearance on First Take from years ago.
With the two continuing to take shots at one another, it doesn't appear that this feud will end any time soon.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens has never been short on confidence, and he believes he could have been a difference-maker for the Buffalo Bills had they accepted his offer prior to Sunday's AFC divisional-round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Owens revealed on Twitter that he reached out to the Bills at some point for a potential return to the NFL, but Buffalo informed the 49-year-old the franchise "didn't want any distractions," which now sounds ironic after star receiver Stefon Diggs blew up on the sideline during the 27-10 loss and left the locker room early after the game:
Owens played 15 seasons in the NFL and ranks third in league history in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He spent the 2009 season with Buffalo, but he is best known for his tenures with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
Owens is still in great shape, as he most recently participated in Fan Controlled Football last year. He was traded from the Zappers to the Knights of Degen, but the Knights failed to advance to the playoffs.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens reportedly was involved in an altercation that resulted in him punching a person outside of a CVS in Los Angeles.
Owens told TMZ Sports that he was shopping in the store when a San Francisco 49ers fan approached him and they had a friendly conversation, but a second man began harassing and heckling the fan he was speaking with. Witnesses told TMZ Sports that the second man "threatened to beat up the men outside."
The incident eventually spilled outside of the store to the sidewalk. Owens was reportedly trying to de-escalate things when the heckler threw a punch at him. The 48-year-old's punch reportedly sent the man to the pavement. The situation calmed down after that, and Owens left in his car.
Owens played 15 seasons in the NFL and is widely considered to be one of the best wide receivers of all time. He ranks third in NFL history in both receiving yard and receiving touchdowns. He is best known for his runs with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, but he also had stints with the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. He signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012 but never saw the field, as he was released prior to the start of the season.
Owens most recently participated in Fan Controlled Football earlier this year. He was the first player in league history ever to be traded when the Zappers sent him to the Knights of Degen. However, the Knights failed to make the playoffs.
Terrell Owens is a man of his word.
He turned heads in May when he guaranteed he could run a 40-yard dash in fewer than 4.5 seconds during an appearance on The People's Pregame: NBCLX’s Fan Controlled Football Podcast.
He was right.
Owens ran a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash while racing against Fan Controlled Football League wide receivers James Harden (not the basketball player) and Andrew Jamiel. TMZ Sports noted there was plenty of trash talk leading up to the race, and Owens backed up his words.
The Hall of Famer is one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history and is third on the all-time list with 15,934 receiving yards, third on the all-time list with 153 touchdown catches and eighth on the all-time list with 1,078 catches.
If his speed is any indication, he may still be able to put up numbers at 48 years old.
The Zappers started the season 0-4, traded NFL Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens midway through the campaign, cycled through a number of quarterbacks, had to release one of them for smoking a joint on the field in May and needed a shootout challenge win over the Glacier Boyz just to get into the playoffs.
And now they are your season two FCF champions. Talk about a journey.
Led by quarterback Kelly Bryant's big performance, the Zappers beat the Bored Ape Football Club 42-24. There was no need for Johnny Manziel while Bryant was making plays like these:
Bryant threw for 114 yards and a touchdown, adding three scores on the ground.
Shuncee Thomas added two rushing scores.
The Bored Apes—the best team in the FCF during the regular season—took a 6-0 early lead, the only one they would hold in the game. A late attempt to mount a comeback was snuffed out by a huge hit from Armond Lloyd:
Earlier in the season, Manziel provided the team with a motto of sorts, noting that, "Win or lose, we booze on the Zappers."
Looks like the drink of choice will be champagne on Saturday night.
The 2022 Fan Controlled Football playoff field is set, with four teams vying for the championship starting next Saturday.
Bored Ape and Shoulda Been Stars were able to relax coming into the final week of the regular season. They had already locked up postseason berths last week.
The two-week postseason will start with two semifinal games on June 4. The winners from those games will play in the championship on June 11.
Shoulda Been Stars are the defending champions, though the 2021 team went by the name of Wild Aces. They defeated Glacier Boyz in the championship game.
2022 FCF Playoff Schedule
Semifinals: Saturday, June 4
Finals: Saturday, June 11
Semifinal No. 1: Bored Ape vs. 8oki
Semifinal No. 2: Shoulda Been Stars vs. Zappers
Bored Ape led the league with a 5-2 record in the regular season. They have lost their last two games after starting the year with five consecutive wins. Shoulda Been Stars won the OG Division with a 4-3 record.
The final two playoff spots were decided by a showdown. Glacier Boyz forced a showdown against the Zappers winner thanks to a 28-20 victory over Shoulda Been Stars.
Knights of Degen had the easiest path to the postseason, needing a win over 8oki. Things didn't work out as planned, though, thanks to a thrilling last-second comeback by 8oki.
Trailing 30-28 with 17 seconds remaining, Mitch Kidd found Patrick Smith deep down the sideline for the go-ahead touchdown.
Thanks to 8oki's win, they forced a showdown with Knights of Degen with a playoff spot on the line. 8oki took the showdown by preventing the Knights from converting on either of their two attempts.
Despite their 4-3 overall record, 8oki looks like a very dangerous team heading into the playoffs. They handed Bored Ape their first loss of the season last week in a 24-20 game.
As wild as 8oki's victory was, it has nothing on the controversy from the end of the Zappers' 42-38 win over Beasts. Beasts were trying to run out the clock, but Dentarrius Yon lost control of the ball after hitting the ground on a keeper.
Even though a Zappers defender clearly touched Yon as he was on his way to the ground, officials ruled the play a fumble and the defense returned the ball for a touchdown to steal a win.
That left Zappers in a showdown against Glacier Boyz to determine the second playoff team from the OG Division.
Zappers won the showdown 2-1, setting up a matchup with Shoulda Been Stars. The two teams met in the first week of the regular season, with Shoulda Been Stars winning a close 20-12 game.
After squeaking into the postseason, Zappers' potential going forward looks to be very high. They defeated SB Stars 28-24 in their one head-to-head meeting on May 14. They have scored 90 points in three games since being shutout by Beasts on May 7.
SB Stars have lost three of their last four games after a 2-0 start. The defense is allowing 25 points per game during this span.
Based on how all four playoff teams are playing right now, look for Zappers and 8oki to play for the championship. Zappers is operating at peak potential and will finish the season with a title in two weeks.
