FS1’s Chris Broussard Has Epically Cringeworthy Live TV Moment: TRAINA THOUGHTS
1. FS1 daytime hot-take shows have always been pretty awful, and it has always blown my mind that anyone watches them.
The goal, of course, of any hot take show is to get any publicity you can, good or bad. Well, FS1 is about to get a ton of attention, thanks to one hell of a mistake by Chris Broussard.
Side note: Broussard once went on ESPN and “confirmed” LeBron James was leaving the Heat to return to the Cavaliers after LeBron WROTE A FIRST-PERSON STORY ANNOUNCING THE DECISION. Really.
Anyway, on Tuesday morning, while analyzing the Bills’ failure to convert a quarterback sneak on fourth-and 1 in the final seconds of their 34–31 loss to the Titans on Monday night, Broussard blamed the bungled play on Buffalo’s not having its left tackle, Taylor Lewan.
There is only one problem with this “analysis.” Lewan PLAYS FOR THE TITANS.
“It got blown up on the left side because of the pressure of Tennessee,” said Broussard. “I wonder why. Could it be because Buffalo’s Pro Bowl left tackle, Taylor Lewan, was injured. If he’s there, maybe that doesn’t happen, but he’s out. So you got a second stringer that Josh Allen is trying to go behind and he got destroyed.”
Everybody makes mistakes. And live TV is not easy. Mistakes are part of the gig when you speak day after day on television with no editor. However, when you sell the mistake as emphatically as Broussard sold this one, it’s just cringe.
When he hits that “I wonder why” to set up this thesis, you almost feel bad for Broussard.
Almost.
2. We love a good athlete-vs.-media feud, even if it’s completely one sided.
That was the case Monday when Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf responded to criticism from former All Pro tight end Shannon Sharpe.
After Metcalf didn’t go out of bounds late in the Seahawks’ game against the Steelers Sunday night, Sharpe chastised Metcalf on Twitter.
Even though Sharpe did not @-mention Metcalf, the Seattle star saw the tweet and, instead of letting it go, decided to fire off this childish response:
That comment didn’t sit well with Sharpe, who went for the jugular:
And this is where Metcalf lost the fight and embarrassed himself:
Not good, DK. Not good.
Calling out the “resume” of one of the best tight ends in NFL history just makes no sense at all.
This is where the skirmish got really good, though, because one of Sharpe’s former teams jumped in and delivered quite a shot to Metcalf.
Metcalf then did something you rarely see these days: He conceded.
Credit Metcalf for seeing the error of his ways and actually admitting fault. Given the volatile times we live in, everyone should take a lesson from him.
3. It’s hard to say the Titans “stopped” Josh Allen on the final play of Monday night’s wild game, since Allen slipped on the fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak, but the Tennessee radio analyst screaming “Yes. Not yes. Not yes. Hell yes!” was highly amusing.
4. Joe Buck’s call of Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam Monday night was excellent. Great voice inflection as the ball sailed into the stands followed by silence and allowing the crowd noise to tell the story.
5. A lot of people watched the Cowboys’ thrilling overtime win against the Patriots on Sunday with nearly 30 million people tuned into the game’s final moments.
6. The latest SI Media Podcast features two guests.
First up is Sports Business Journal reporter John Ourand. Ourand talks about the fallout from the Jon Gruden email controversy and ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s journalistic ethics getting called into question as part of the fallout. We also discussed ESPN’s new deal with the NFL to air a Monday-night wild-card game and how Peyton and Eli Manning's alternate broadcast fits in. Ourand also updates us on where things stand regarding the future of the NFL Sunday Ticket contract and whether DirecTV's run is over.
Following Ourand, Alan Sepinwall, the chief TV critic for Rolling Stone, joins the podcast to talk about The Many Saints of Newark, Squid Game, Jon Stewart’s new Apple TV+ show, Seinfeld’s syndication deals and much more.
The podcast closes with the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Jimmy and Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY talk about Jimmy’s trying to book Larry David for the SI Media Podcast, Sal’s NFL Sunday getting ruined and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Curb Your Enthusiasm returns this Sunday, and Jeff Garlin will be on the SI Media Podcast later this week, so I’m posting classic Curb videos all week in this space.
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.