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Heat's Duncan Robinson Tried to Get in Sports Media, but Now He's in the NBA Finals: TRAINA THOUGHTS

See the text Duncan Robinson sent three years ago about a career change.

Jimmy Traina

1. Here's a feel-good story to start off the week.

After the Heat advanced to the NBA Finals on Sunday night with their series-closing win against the Celtics, former college basketball player and current media personality Mark Titus shared a text message he got three years ago from Miami forward Duncan Robinson.

At the time, Robinson was playing at the University of Michigan, where he averaged 9.3 points per game in three seasons, but he didn't think the NBA was in his future.

So as a 23-year-old senior, he reached out to Titus, who was working at The Ringer at the time.

We don't know exactly what happened to Robinson's media career, but now, after being undrafted, Robinson, who averaged 13.5 points in 73 games this season, will be a starting forward in the NBA Finals.

Pretty cool and not a bad upgrade when it comes to salary.

2. If you're a baseball fan or someone who likes to bet on baseball, Wednesday will be your utopia. The unprecedented day features EIGHT playoffs games, including an afternoon game on network television, which brings back fond memories for anyone who grew up in the '80s. 

Here's the full slate with networks and broadcast crews, with a couple of crews calling multiple games.

12 p.m.: Reds at Braves, ESPN, Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez 

1 p.m.: Astros at Twins, ESPN2, Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez

2 p.m.: Marlins at Cubs, ABC, Jon Sciambi, Chipper Jones 

3 p.m.: White Sox at A's, ESPN, Dave Flemming, Jessica Mendoza

4 p.m.: Blue Jays at Rays, TBS, Rich Waltz, Jimmy Rollins

5 p.m.: Cardinals at Padres, ESPN2, Tom Hart, Rick Sutcliffe

7 p.m.: Yankees at Indians, ESPN, Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez

10 p.m.: Brewers at Dodgers, ESPN, Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez

3. Jon Gruden, who was fined by the NFL last week for not wearing a mask, tried to follow orders Sunday, but things went awry.

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4. Football players need to start wearing shorter T-shirts.

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5. Legendary broadcaster Dan Patrick is the guest on the the latest episode of the SI Media Podcast. Patrick opened up about a serious illness that left him with memory loss and depression, and he talked about leaving ESPN three years too late, the scary prospect of building his own brand, the art of the interview, Howard Stern inspiring the Danettes, 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: Anytime there is news about the Borat sequel, I will write about it and feature a video. 

Today we've learned that the the follow-up title to Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan will be Borat: Gift of Pornographic Monkey to Vice Premiere Mikhael Pence to Make Benefit Recently Diminished Nation of Kazakhstan. Can't wait!

7. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: We were deprived of what would've been one of the best endings ever Sunday when Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler couldn't execute a pitch and catch during the final play of the Chargers' loss to the Panthers.

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.

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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.

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