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Let’s Talk About the Greatness of Ian Eagle: TRAINA THOUGHTS

TNT's Ian Eagle put on a play-by-play clinic during Luka Doncic's heroics.

Jimmy Traina

1. It’s no secret Ian Eagle is a great play-by-play broadcaster. But every now and then, it’s good to remind people Eagle is one of the best in the business despite not being the “lead” guy at a network.

Jim Nantz is ahead of Eagle in the CBS pecking order, and Marv Albert is TNT’s top NBA play-by-play man.

There’s a chance Eagle will never ascend to one of those spots. The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand has reported TNT is leaning toward making Brian Anderson its No. 1 NBA voice when Albert calls it a career. Meanwhile, Nantz is in the midst of negotiations with CBS on a new deal. While Nantz reportedly wants big money, most experts can’t envision a scenario in which he leaves the network.

However, if Nantz does not re-sign, CBS can turn to the versatile Eagle, who currently calls NFL, NBA, tennis and college basketball games.

On Tuesday night, Eagle showed off his chops late in the Mavericks’ 110–107 win over the Celtics. While Luka Dončić dominated on the court, Eagle dominated on the mic, calling two clutch shots by the All-Star guard.

“Dončić, the handles, the fake, the fade, it’s PURE!” was Eagle’s excellent call of a three-pointer that put the Mavs up 107–105 with 15 seconds remaining.

For the game-winner a short time later, Eagle went with, “Dončić, down to three seconds, two seconds, Dončić for the win, OH YEAH, LUKA DONČIĆ, THE DAGGER!

Just tremendous performances from Dončić and Eagle on Tuesday night.

2. The Rock was laying the smack down way before he got into the WWE. Last night's episode of Young Rock showed the high school version of Dwayne Johnson punching out a kid who said wrestling was fake. The People's Champ confirmed this was true and also admitted to piledriving another kid who wanted to be a wiseguy about wrestling being fake.

Never, ever use the f-word around a wrestler.

3. This is a great story from the Seattle Times on how one random Mariners fan finding the YouTube video of the team's then president and CEO Kevin Mather making his offensive remarks led to his firing.

4. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was blown away by a reporter's Irish accent during a press conference Tuesday.

5. Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson is every single one of us who has been caught on camera dancing when we thought we were cutting a rug in privacy.

6. If you're into the current trading cards craze, or if you just want to get educated on the trading cards boom, you will enjoy the latest SI Media Podcast that features an interview with Darren Rovell.

The main focus of the episode is the explosion in the trading cards business. From why the boom happened and whether it will last to the process of getting cards graded and selling them for profit, Rovell goes in-depth on explaining many of the aspects of this phenomenon. He also explains that people are buying and selling more than cards. Game tickets, VCR tapes and checks are also in high demand. In addition to discussing the trading card world, we also talk about the Super Bowl streaker who claims he won $375,000 on a $50,000 bet and the possibility of Twitter adding a pay service.

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

You can also watch the podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: The NBA announced Gladys Knight will sing the national anthem at the All-Star Game on March 7. If the league were smart, it would also let her perform her classic, "Midnight Train to Georgia." It's impossible not to be in a good mood after hearing that song.

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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