Tag: Steve Smith

Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. shares touching tribute to Sam Mills

As only he could, Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. paid tribute to the player, the coach and the man that Sam Mills was.

Carolina Panthers legend and soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer Sam Mills has touched so many lives—even the ones that are a bit rough around the edges.

That includes fellow franchise great Steve Smith Sr., who took a few minutes to speak on Mills’ long overdue election to Canton on Friday’s NFL Total Access. But, as you’ll see, the impact Mills had on those around him resulted in Smith not only talking about him from the standpoint of an analyst, but also from the standpoint of a friend.

Smith, who was drafted by the Panthers in 2001, began his career with the organization while Mills was serving as the team’s linebackers coach. For four seasons, the wideout was lucky enough to experience the inspirational man and story behind the legacy of No. 51.

His experience included Carolina’s run to Super Bowl XXXVIII, where Mills delivered his famous “Keep Pounding” speech prior to the Wild Card Round victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

And surely, with just a little more time, Smith will be joining his old pal once again with a spot of his own in those hallowed halls of Ohio.

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Legendary Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith retiring at season’s end

Legendary Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith announced his plans to retire at the end of this season on Tuesday.

One of the greatest coaches in high school basketball history is calling it a career at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.

Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith announced his plans to retire at the end of this season on Tuesday. Smith, 66, has a career record of 1,225-98 and has won nine national championships. This year’s Oak Hill team is currently 23-7 and ranked 10th in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25.

Smith’s Oak Hill teams have won national championships in 1993, 1994, 1999. 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012 and most recently in 2016. MaxPreps recently named Oak Hill the Team of the Decade for the 1990s after it went 314-20 with three national championships over that span.

Smith’s 1993 national championship team was his greatest at Oak Hill. With future NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse leading the way, Oak Hill went 36-0 for the best record in school history. Oak Hill went undefeated again in 1999 with a perfect 31-0 record.

Smith has coached 29 NBA draft picks, including Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith and Rod Strickland. Smith coached two-time Naismith Award winner Brandon Jennings during his star-studded high school career and also coached Ron Mercer when he was the top-ranked recruit in the nation.

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Panthers great Steve Smith baffled by Charlotte’s treasonous chip selection

The Panthers saw opposing teams take over their home games far too many times in 2021. Now, they’re taking over Charlotte’s snack aisles.

The Carolina Panthers hosted quite a few mass breaches of opposing fans in 2021. Home games—particularly those against the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots—saw uncomfortable amounts of green, purple and red consume the bottom bowl of Bank of America Stadium in the middle of the season.

Now, it looks as though the potato chip aisles in Charlotte are now under siege as well.

Franchise great and snack seeker Steve Smith Sr. was probably just innocently perusing his local Target for some eats on Sunday. You can’t watch the conference championship action without the goods, right?

What he saw, however, was anything but good . . .

So, who’s to blame for this borderline treasonous offense?

Did the store order the wrong bags? Did the manufacturer get the SKUs mixed up? Or did Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera make a visit back to the Carolinas and decide to drop off some cheeky gifts?

Whatever the case may be, home-field advantage ain’t what it used to be around these parts.

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Sterling Sharpe and Steve Smith share high praise for Cooper Kupp after winning triple crown

Cooper Kupp received a message from two legends for becoming the 4th WR to win the triple crown in the Super Bowl era

Cooper Kupp may not have broken the single-season receiving record, but he did accomplish an incredibly rare feat this year. He finished the season as the league leader in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdown catches (16), becoming the first player since Steve Smith in 2005 to finish first in all three categories.

Kupp is just the fourth receiver in the Super Bowl era to win the triple crown, joining Sterling Sharpe, Jerry Rice and Smith as the only players to do it. The gap between Kupp and every other receiver was pretty wide, too, making this a season for the record books.

As the newest member of the triple crown club, Kupp was welcomed by Smith and Sharpe, who each shared a message for the Rams receiver congratulating him on his historic campaign.

“I’m so proud of you, not because I’ve done anything, but because I know what kind of player you are,” Smith said.

“I know every catch, every yard and every touchdown you scored was not only to help your team get into the playoffs, but to have a chance to hoist that Lombardi Trophy. You’re an outstanding route runner. You have sensational hands and I want to congratulate you and I want to thank your teammates for helping you be the 2021 receiving champ,” Sharpe added.

Sean McVay sheds light on elite company Cooper Kupp could join with receiving triple crown

Sean McVay went into detail on how much it would mean for Cooper Kupp to join the legendary group of WRs that have won the triple crown.

Cooper Kupp has an opportunity to break multiple records with another productive performance for the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18 versus the San Francisco 49ers. Besides being able to set the single-season receptions record and the single-season receiving yards record, Kupp could become just the fourth wide receiver in NFL history to lead the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.

Ahead of what could be a historic week for Kupp, Sean McVay shed light on his thoughts about the previous wide receivers (Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, and Steve Smith) that have achieved the triple crown feat.

“Incredible competitors, all three of those guys. To be mentioned in that same category is a true compliment. I know the respect that Cooper Kupp has for the history of this game and all three of those guys are so elite in their own right at playing that position,” McVay said Wednesday. “It’s a testament to the production. When you start talking about catches, yards, touchdowns – it’s unbelievable that he’s mentioned in that same category. He has to go finish it out, but he has delivered in so many different ways for us and what he does without the ball is arguably as impressive. Those people that really love studying the tape, watching the intricacies of what he does snap in and snap out, it’s pretty remarkable. You just feel fortunate to be able to work with a player like him, but all three of those guys that you just mentioned – what a special group that is. Amazing accomplishments that those men achieved. For Cooper to be mentioned in that same category and potentially be able to have his name alongside of those guys with the triple crown is a huge testament to the hard work he’s put in. Then also, being surrounded by great teammates.”

Kupp enters Sunday’s game with 138 receptions, 1,829 receiving yards, and 15 receiving touchdowns, all of which lead the league. He needs only 12 receptions and 136 receiving yards to set the single-season records for both categories.

To be mentioned in the same sentence as guys like Rice, Sharpe, and Smith is nothing to scoff at. What Kupp has done this season — regardless of whether he breaks the records or not — has been truly remarkable any way you look at it.

Even with the Rams focused on bigger things like winning a Super Bowl, McVay realizes how special it would be for Kupp to join the likes of Rice, Sharpe, and Smith.

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Steve Smith Sr. congratulates Sam Mills on being named Hall of Fame finalist

Panthers great Steve Smith showed some love for 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist Sam Mills, who he called the “greatest Panther to ever wear the jersey.”

Carolina Panthers all-time leading receiver Steve Smith Sr. was in the company of Sam Mills during the most celebrated moment of his storied football career. And even though he wasn’t in the same company with his fellow franchise legend for another red-letter day, Smith was still there to congratulate him.

On Thursday night, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 15 modern-era finalists for its 2022 class. Among them was the former Panthers linebacker in Mills, who is in his final year of eligibility for a bust in Canton. Not among them, surprisingly and unfortunately, was Smith—who paid tribute to one of his former coaches.

 

Although Mills played just three of his 12 professional seasons with the Panthers, his impact on the organization will last for multiple lifetimes. His famous “Keep Pounding” speech during the team’s 2003 run to Super Bowl XXXVIII—a journey Smith was apart of in his third season—has become the beloved mantra for the franchise.

So, whether he’s bronzed in Ohio or not, Mills will always be golden in Carolina. The same goes for Smith, who will assuredly get another shot at winding up where he also belongs.

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Jeremy Chinn Week 16 jersey watch: Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith Sr.

On Sunday, Panthers S Jeremy Chinn iced up with a nod to franchise legend Steve Smith Sr.

Sunday marks the final installment of Carolina Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn’s season-long jersey-wearing initiative. So, he went out in style.

For his last show of respect for Carolina-area sports legends here in 2021, Chinn iced up, son, and hit Bank of America Stadium in Week 16 with the ol’ No. 89.

Those threads, of course, belong to franchise legend Steve Smith Sr.

Smith began his journey in Charlotte, N.C. upon being drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft. He went on to play 13 eventful seasons in the black and blue, collecting three All-Pro nods, five Pro Bowl selections and the rare triple crown of receiving back in 2005.

89 finished his Carolina career with the team’s all-time triple crown as well, sitting atop the throne in receptions (836), yards (12,197) and touchdowns (67). Already a Panthers Hall of Honor member, Smith will look to bust through another hall in Canton, Ohio this summer.

Whether the sport’s eighth all-time leading pass catcher ultimately gets there, it seems he definitely has a supporter in Chinn.

Here’s how the year’s wardrobe panned out for Chinn and his push for charity:

Preseason Week 2: Charlotte Hornets guard Muggsy Bogues
Preseason Week 3: Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers
Week 1: Davidson College guard Stephen Curry
Week 2: University of South Carolina wide receiver Sterling Sharpe
Week 5: Carolina Hurricanes center Rod Brind’Amour
Week 6: Homestead Grays first baseman Buck Leonard
Week 9: NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Week 11: Las Vegas Aces forward A’Ja Wilson
Week 14: Charlotte FC kit

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Panthers legends Steve Smith, Sam Mills named Hall of Fame semifinalists

Steve Smith and Sam Mills are both one step closer to Canton.

For one Carolina Panthers great, it’s his first chance. And for the other, it’s his last. But either way, they’re both a step closer to football immortality.

Early Wednesday afternoon, franchise legends Steve Smith Sr. and Sam Mills were named two of 26 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2022. While Smith will get his opening crack at Canton in the upcoming months, Mills—as a modern-era candidate—is now on his fifth and final year of eligibility.

The duo have made the initial cut of 2022 nominees, a pool that included 123 players prior to today. The remaining 26 candidates will soon be whittled down to 15 finalists.

Smith played 13 of his 16 professional seasons in Carolina. He remains the franchise leader in all major receiving categories and is currently the eighth all-time leading receiver (14,731 yards) in NFL history.

Mills, a universally respected and admired man in the football world, earned one of his five Pro Bowl selections as a Panther. He was also a three-time All-Pro and is a member of both the Panthers Hall of Honor and the Saints Ring of Honor.

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Former Raiders RB Steve Smith dies at 57 after battle with ALS

Former Raiders fullback Steve Smith has died after a 20-year battle with ALS

The Las Vegas Raiders family and entire NFL are mourning the loss of former running back Steve Smith, who died Saturday after a battle with ALS.

Smith was 57 and had fought the disease for two decades.

Smith was drafted in the third round by the Raiders in 1987 after starring at Penn State, where he helped the Nittany Lions win the national championship in the 1986 season.

Smith, primarily a fullback, ran for 1,627 yards and nine TDs in seven seasons for the Raiders and two in Seattle. He blocked for Bo Jackson, among others.

“He laid his body on the line for me hundreds of times,” Jackson told the York Daily Record in December of 2019.  “I’m just glad God let him stay around as long as he has so I can go see him. … I want to do my part to make sure he’s not forgotten.”

Per the York Daily Record:

Though Smith could not walk or talk or even hold his wife’s hand in more than a decade, he could communicate through his glances, expressions and words on a computer screen controlled with his eyes.

He decided to live with machines to help him breathe and eat because he wanted to fight for a cure.

Watch: Steve Smith gives impassioned endorsement for Panthers’ playoff push

Steve Smith agrees with Cam Newton. The Panthers might just be back.

If you needed one person to make an intense, spirited speech about the Carolina Panthers, then who would you look to? Yeah, you bet your rear it’s Steve Smith.

Prior to kickoff of the Week 11 matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, the Fox Network desk was asked which NFC team has the best chance of stealing a wild card spot. Smith—a connoisseur of passion, vocalization and the Panthers—did his thing . . .

Even in the middle of a roller coaster campaign that has them sitting at 5-5, Carolina is currently in possession of the conference’s final playoff ticket. Their hold on that No. 7 seed, however, will be challenged by a handful of nearby squads such as the 4-win Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Smitty, however, thinks the Panthers have what it takes to stave off the field. Between their elite defense, which has allowed the second-fewest yards per game thus far (280.7), and what’s begun to cook on offense with quarterback Cam Newton—these cats have him thinking, “We back.”

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