It’s time for an all-Mailbag edition of Traina Thought. Questions were submitted via Twitter, Instagram and old-school email. I’ll answer them in that order. Thanks to all who chimed in.
Here we go.
What is the best time of year for being a sports fan?
March-April (NCAA Tourney/NFL Draft/NBA & NHL Playoffs/F1 Starting/Spring Training)
Or
October-November (NFL/MLB Playoffs/NBA/NHL/CFB/F1)
March to April vs. October to November is sneakily one of the biggest sports debates of all time. Sports fans are passionate about this one, even though the answer is more than clear.
Obviously, this is subjective, but I’ve always said that the October period where we get NFL, college football and the MLB playoffs is by far my favorite time on the sports calendar.
I feel like most sports fans think the best time is right now because of March Madness, but regular season NBA and NHL are useless, for the most part, so I don’t understand how anyone can choose March-April over October-November when the stakes of the sports happening at that point are much higher.
And the truth about the NCAA tournament is that the most fun comes from the first two days. If I want to be generous, I can stretch that to the first four days, but it’s really that first Thursday and Friday that are special.
Regular season NFL is huge, as is the college football regular season. Then you throw in the MLB postseason, which is the best postseason in sports. That intensity can’t be topped.
Does the world really need Stephen A more involved with ESPN NFL coverage?
Let’s see how ESPN uses Stephen A. Smith on its NFL coverage before we criticize it. My guess is that we’ll see Stephen A. on Monday Night Countdown. Is that a big deal? No. It’s not like ESPN is gonna stick him between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth, so my advice would be not to get all worked up about Smith getting more airtime during a pregame show.
Any chance we could get a NFL schedule making docuseries? That follows the schedule makers from the spring to the divisional round. I think it could give fans a good insight into why they are flexing some games and not others! I think it would be a bigger hit than people think!
I love this idea and I’m such a sports media nerd, I would watch every minute of this docuseries. The NFL, though, likely wouldn’t want to show fans just how the sausage is made. It does seem like some kind of show, though, could be built around how the NFL puts the schedule together. This could be a perfect show for NFL Network, which can use some content.
Do you think all color analysts should go through referee training like Richard Jefferson did?
No. Analysts don’t criticize referees (outside of Troy Aikman), and anytime I’ve ever asked a play-by-play person or analyst from any sport on SI Media With Jimmy Traina about the refs, all of them always drop the line about how, “the refs have a very hard job and they are great at what they do” blah, blah, blah.
While analysts going through referee training might give them a better understanding of what the job is, it won’t make the referees any better, and that’s what the problem is.
Why is watching a bunch of mediocre college basketball one of the biggest events of the year?
Because of bracket pools, gambling and tradition.
Can St. John's basketball success drive ratings for March Madness? Big market, big name coach
I don’t think people outside of New York will care about St. John’s or get into the St. John’s story, but having a team in the New York market go deep into the tournament, will definitely help CBS/Turner from a ratings standpoint.
WM winner – Cody or Cena?
I will be rooting for Cody Rhodes because I don’t think a part-timer should be champion, but I think the WWE will make John Cena a 17-time champion at WrestleMania. Full disclosure: I will also be rooting for Rhodes because, unlike with Cena, I think I can get him on SI Media With Jimmy Traina. Plus, I owe it to Rhodes after this.
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You've stated you think Larry David is correct regarding about 98% of the grievances he experiences on Curb. What grievances are in the 2% he's wrong about? Taking flowers from a grave site has to be one of them, no?
The first one that comes to mind is when Cheryl called Larry from the airplane thinking it was about to go down, but Larry blew her off because he had the TiVo guy at the house. This led to their divorce.
Now, in a previous season, Cheryl got mad at Larry because when she got home from a vacation, Larry ignored her to watch the final minute of a football game. Larry was 100% justified in that situation. There was no reason Cheryl couldn’t wait a few minutes to share the mundane and boring details of a trip so that Larry could finish watching a game.
But when your wife calls from a plane, you gotta handle that call.
What’s your favorite Kevin Harlan #MarchMadness call of all-time?
This is a no-brainer because of the video aspect.
“DID WE JUST SEE WHAT WE THINK WE JUST SAW?!”
Kevin Harlan nearly FELL OUT OF HIS CHAIR. Dan Bonner and @realStanVG were STUNNED.
The crew’s reaction to Furman’s dramatic win over Virginia was incredible. pic.twitter.com/Jym88PALq8
On to some Instagram questions…
Best broadcast team on March Madness this year? — @benrekosh
Easiest question I’ve ever gotten. CBS’s lead team of Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill are on another level thanks to the chemistry between Ian and Raft.
What sports figures from the past do you wish that you could’ve covered? — @amyroanne
I’ll keep this to the sports media world since that’s my domain. John Madden and Pat Summerall together would’ve made for a phenomenal episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina. Keith Jackson, as well. As a Yankees fan who grew up in the 1980s, I also would’ve loved to interview Phil Rizzuto.
Is this baseball ABS system good or bad for the sport? — @mikeymelnick
I have absolutely no idea whatsoever how the Automated Ball-Strike system can be bad. From what I’ve seen in spring training, it’s perfect. I even wrote a whole column about it. I wish Major League Baseball would implement the system for this season.
Of all the look-backs at The Sopranos (books, docs, pods) which is the best? — @Cfreddeer
This might seem like an odd choice, but this cast interview from 2019 via the Today show would be my answer.
Now for reader questions submitted via email.
Hi, Jimmy. I’ve got a mailbag question for you: The Stephen A.-LeBron “bad father” feud is now entering its second week, and Stephen A. continues to milk it for all its worth. My question to you, who knows all about how pro wrestling promotes itself, do you think this feud is a “work” or a “shoot”? And if it is a work, what are your thoughts on media members doing something like that. I just don’t find it coincidental that this feud started in public, on the sidelines, about something said nearly two months ago. What do you think? I’ve been a fan of you for the longest! — Jeremy R.
I don’t for one second think this is a work. For it to be a work, LeBron and Stephen A. would have to be in on this together. That didn’t happen. Why would LeBron be in on this? The only one who benefits from this feud is Stephen A. I know we live in a conspiracy-theory world these days, this dust-up is a “what you see is what you get” (aka, a shoot) situation.
Now, you did hit on something in your question. Stephen A. is milking this as much as humanly possible. So, for his part, this started as a shoot, but now he’s going into a work by doing interviews every day to blast LeBron.
Hey, Jimmy. Not a gambler. Don't understand the fascination with bad beats. For every bad beat doesn't that mean a bunch of gamblers have a great win? Can you explain why it is bad beats and not an amazing cover? (Am I saying that right?) Big fan. Love the pod and have been reading since Hot Clicks first days. Your authenticity stands out in today’s media landscape. Thank you! — Scott
I always love hearing from someone who has been with me since those awesome Hot Clicks days.
You are correct that just as many people win money on a “bad beat” than lose money. The “bad beat” refers to the circumstances around the cover. If an underdog is covering for most of a game, but then collapses late and the favorite winds up covering, that’s the typical “bad beat.” But it can also happen with favorites. In football, for example, a favorite can be covering for most of the game, but then plays prevent defense and the underdog gets a couple of cheap touchdowns late. That’s a bad beat.
“Bad beat” is just a term that refers to wild or unusual changes in the betting result after it looked like said result was going to go a different way.
Jimmy, here's one I've thought about for a bit. Back in the Hot Click days (miss the LLOTD, by the way) did you ever once consider that ESPN would essentially create a league (TGL) have it be sponsored by a gambling site, and have the host, Matt Barrie, give live odds on the air? Crazy how far we've come. I'm not complaining, just an observation. Keep up the great work. Love the pod. – Ben
I’ve been betting since my college days and I’m still shocked to see how much networks have embraced sports gambling. From TNT cutting to Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith in studio during the game to update viewers on live odds, to ESPN putting betting lines on their scroll, to pregame shows doing pick segments with the betting line, it’s still jarring to me. So yes, if you would’ve asked me back in the Hot Clicks days if I’d think ESPN would create a golf league with betting being a focal point, I would’ve said no way.
Of course, there is still a ton of hypocrisy with all of this because betting still can’t be discussed on game telecasts. That’s what I’m waiting for.
Hi, Jimmy. Long time reader, first time writer. Whatever happened to Extra Mustard? I used to love that link, easiest way to find all the great non-serious sports content. From a Canadian perspective, we miss the symbiotic relationship we used to have with our US friends. Maybe we can be friends again in 4 years? All the best. – JP
Hi, Jimmy. Long-time reader here. Have you ever tried to find your column on the SI mobile site? It’s very difficult. On the desktop site you can at least look under "Media," but this is not an option on the mobile site. I’m sure I miss many posts due to not being able to find them. Am I an idiot and missing something? Or is this a conspiracy? Thanks. — Eric
I’ll tackle the last two question at once. I’m not entirely sure why the Extra Mustard page went away. It might have been something that just ran its course. Plus, SI underwent MASSIVE adjustments last year after an ownership change, so that may have played a part.
I understand Traina Thoughts is difficult to find on your mobile site. However, there are several ways to get this column every day. You can bookmark my author page and check it daily. The column will always be there. I also post the column every day on Twitter and Facebook and now on BlueSky.
Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.
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