SI

Paul Finebaum Calls Out Stephen A. Smith for Being ‘Subservient’ to Deion Sanders

Finebaum wasn’t having any of his ESPN colleague's defense of Sanders going after the media.

Jimmy Traina

Stephen A. Smith and Paul Finebaum got into on “First Take” about Deion Sanders.
Stephen A. Smith and Paul Finebaum got into on “First Take” about Deion Sanders. / ESPN

1. This was so, so good from Paul Finebaum.

On Wednesday’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith tried to defend Deion Sanders for his latest bit of nonsense, and Finebaum wasn’t having it.

Sanders is upset because he feels “the media” now bashes college football players because “the media” is jealous that college football players now make a lot of money. The theory is so dumb it’s not even worth going deeper into it.

Finebaum took Sanders to task for his accusation against the media, calling out the Colorado coach for gaslighting and being desperate. “It’s baseless and, quite frankly, it looks to me like he’s living in an alternate universe,” said Finebaum.

Smith went on to “respectfully disagree” with Finebaum and offered a weak defense of Deion by claiming that Deion said, “some of y’all” when making his accusation against the media, as if that made it all better.

As Smith continued to take up for the man with a 6-9 career record at Colorado, Finebaum told him to stop being subservient to Sanders.

Well done, Paul.

2. A new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this morning, and it features a conversation with CBS’s lead college football play-by-play man, Brad Nessler.

Nessler talks about CBS losing the SEC and landing the Big Ten, replacing the legendary Verne Lundquist and the one college football stadium he has never called a game in.

Nessler also shares stories about the various analysts he’s worked with through the years, reveals the one event he hasn’t called but would like to, weighs in on what he thinks of Tom Brady and Nick Saban as television stars and much more.

Nessler also talks about his friendship with wrestling icon Ric Flair and reveals whether Flair or Bill Raftery is the bigger partier.

Following Nessler, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. In this week’s segment, we discuss ESPN’s Jason Kelce–heavy Monday Night Football broadcast of Falcons-Eagles game, the trend that NFL bettors should be aware of, Saturday Night’s Main Event returning to NBC, whether The Bear is a comedy, and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

3. After the Brewers clinched the NL Central with a 2–1 walk-off win last night, the team celebrated in the clubhouse. Manager Pat Murphy gave a speech, brought up longtime Milwaukee broadcaster,Bob Uecker and said, “There is no one who epitomizes a champion the way this man does right here. What an example for us to be with every single day. Bob Uecker.”

Uecker’s response: “I peed my pants!”

4. In Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts, I vented about the over-the-top Jason Kelce Show that ESPN gave us during the Falcons-Eagles game on Monday night.

Kelce acknowledged his hefty amount of airtime on the latest New Heights podcast.

“Dude, there was a lot of Jason Kelce,” he said when his brother Travis introduced a segment about Jason’s return to Philly after retiring in the offseason.

Kelce added, “Atlanta had to deal with me for four hours before things got rough for the Eagles and they were like, ‘Oh, no. Come back in the booth. Jason where you at now?’

“I fully understand why a bunch of Atlanta people hate my guts right now, so I apologize.”

5. I can’t picture Bill Belichick getting so much satisfaction from a simple prank like new Patriots coach Jerod Mayo did last week.

6. Here’s something you’ve probably never seen in a baseball game before: Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez was picked off at third base in the 10th inning of a tied game against the Yankees last night after he tried to dodge a bat that was flying his way.

Tremendous call of the play by Mariners play-by-play voice, Dave Sims.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date 34 years ago, Goodfellas was released in theaters. Instead of giving you a clip from the movie that you’ve probably seen a million times, here’s the glowing Siskel & Ebert review of the film.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

Published |Modified
Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

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.

Home/College Football