The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Randone’s wager was defensible; De Niro top-ten rewatchability; Stallone’s weight-gain mistake
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:22Read transcript
- Randone’s Bulls wager is defended through a speculative 1996 Knicks playoff reconstruction: a 13-point loss nearly covers 12, countered by the rule against betting on Jordan.
- A top-ten De Niro performance claim is narrowed to top-ten rewatchability after a formidable career list, with the “You blew it” scene more tempting to revisit than Raging Bull.
- Stallone’s weight gain is speculated to have changed his face after weight loss and prompted later cosmetic work; this is a personal theory, not a documented explanation.
- The producer judges the De Niro take the hottest of the three.