NFL TV Rights, 'Hard Knocks,' Mike Golic and More Are Covered in This Mailbag Edition of Traina Thoughts

NFL's current television deals expire in 2022, but negotiations are near.

1. It's a slow day in the sports world, unless you want to get into how the coronavirus is still impacting things, especially college football, which I don't want to do. The biggest news today is the WWE hiring CAA's Nick Khan as president and chief operating officer, but I'm going to cover that later today on this week's SI Media Podcast with Sports Business Journal's John Ourand, so subscribe and check it out if that topic interests you.

So given the lack of news, I asked people on Twitter to send me questions I could answer here in Traina Thoughts for a little mailbag edition. Here we go.

Next NFL TV contracts- what’s your best guess on what they will look like?

— Canio Costanzo (@CanioCostanzo) August 5, 2020

• I would expect CBS and Fox to keep their Sunday afternoon packages and NBC to keep its Sunday night package. 

Where you may see some shuffling is Monday night and Thursday night. James Andrew Miller, who knows the inner workings of ESPN better than anyone, has said often that Monday Night Football could shift from ESPN to ABC. 

According to John Ourand, Fox also seems to be making Sunday afternoons a priority, not Thursday nights, so that package could be up for grabs.

The real question is what will happen to the Sunday Ticket package and streaming rights. The days of being able to watch Sunday Ticket on DirecTV only are going to come to an end. I don't know whether it's going to be Amazon or Apple or another company that gets in on the Sunday Ticket action, but that's where the most significant change will come.

Is anyone looking forward to Hard Knocks??? I think they picked the 2 most boring teams. Bucs, Panthers, Bears, Chiefs, Cardinals, Browns again. All better.

— Monty Griffin (@tincupmonty) August 5, 2020

• I've never had less interest in the show. I'm not of fan of them featuring two teams, but the bigger issue is that I just don't see how the show can be interesting with what's going on in the country, unless we get some real behind-the-scenes drama about how the teams are dealing with the coronavirus.

• For me, it's always A-Rod. In his defense, though, it's not all his fault. Yes, I think he's a bad analyst, but it doesn't help that ESPN turns every one of his broadcasts into The Alex Rodriguez Show while ignoring the game fans have tuned in to watch. 

What do you think happens with Sage Steele? Does that controversy die or carry on?

— Neil schoolnik (@Neilschoolnik) August 5, 2020

• I'd be shocked if anything happens with Sage Steele. There's no chance ESPN would cut ties with her, nor should it.

What’s the real reason ESPN fired Golic?

— Mark Olwick (@markolwick) August 5, 2020

• I don't know the answer to this question, but my opinion is that while Golic was a solid, nuts-and-bolts radio guy, he lacked the star power ESPN loves. Say what you want about Mike Greenberg, but after a very rough start on Get Up, the show has turned things around.

It's very hard when you're part of a longtime popular duo, à la Mike and Mike, to recreate that chemistry with someone else. Wingo and Golic never really became a powerhouse show, and that's not Golic's fault. Once ESPN split up Mike and Mike, Golic lost his cachet.

What is it about radio that has made it the most appealing medium for you (based on your love of Stern, Mad Dog, John and Suzyn, etc.)?

— Dylan Watton (@watton_dylan) August 5, 2020

• This is a really interesting question. I think the biggest factor is that I'm old. I grew up before the internet. So if you lived in New York and wanted a sports fix during the day before games took place at night, you listened to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN, who did five and a half hours of sports talk radio each day. They became part of the sports fan's life in New York. 

When Howard and Mad Dog are off the same week like this week....what’s your listening replacement? I’m listening to the Origins podcast on Curb.....which your turned me into.

— Calabrese (@Caljammr) August 5, 2020

• Weeks without Howard Stern and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo are rough for me, but there are plenty of shows out there to fill the void. Good Morning Football and The Dan Le Batard Show in the morning. I also catch up on a wide variety of podcasts. Something to Wrestle, Grilling JR, Office Ladies, Pardon My Take, Pod Save America and Green Light Pod are in my rotation, and I just started An Oral History of The Office, which is excellent. Plus there is also Sternthology on Howard 101 every day. And, of course, there is always music. Shout-out to Sirius XM's "'80s on 8" channel!

Do you think Howard will renew? If so 3 or 5 years? Thanks

— rob (@legalshieldrob) August 5, 2020

• Yes, I think Howard will renew. I don't think he will ever leave the radio.

• The only answer is the first pitch at the Mets game, but unfriending Howard on Facebook is very underrated, and my personal favorite is when Booey left Carol Miller in the studio with whooping cough.

• I'll just say ...

• I enjoy it much more when there isn't a pandemic going on and sports don't disappear for four months and aren't in constant jeopardy of not happening.

2. Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew gave us one of the better coronavirus-related quotes we've heard over the past few months during his press conference Tuesday.

"Did not contract the virus. Took one look at me, ran the other way. Probably in it's best interest"

Gardner Minshew this afternoon #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/fP0WBDB83C

— Ben Murphy (@BenMurphy__) August 4, 2020

3. Every single Major League Baseball game should feature players dancing on top of dugouts after home runs.

We haven’t seen this Soto Shuffle yet. pic.twitter.com/BuLw1Xnugs

— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 5, 2020

4. I'm a big fan of fake Twitter accounts fooling people with breaking news items, but today we got a gem from a real Twitter account.

Weird new Big Ten rule this year: team that has been most recently quarantined gets choice to receive opening kickoff or defer to 2nd half

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 5, 2020

5. ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy shared his thoughts on a wide range of topics during the latest SI Media Podcast. Among the topics: Magic City wings, Lou Williams's suspension, how weekday afternoon games will have an impact on players, calling games from the Orlando bubble, the NBA being a totally different game today than in the '80s and '90s, people not wearing masks, Twitter, The Last Dance and much more.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.

6. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: After watching a certain interview from Axios on Tuesday, I was reminded of Jonah from Veep. What a great character.

7. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: Here's a ridiculous 75-yard touchdown run from Emmitt Smith during a 1991 Cowboys-Washington Monday Night Football game.

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 Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.