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NBA Fans Are Comparing Kyrie Irving to Michael Scott After Seeing His Bizarre Statement

Also in Traina Thoughts: New info on Joc Pederson vs. Tommy Pham; MLB broadcast to have no announcers in booth; NBA, NHL postseason ratings and more.

Jimmy Traina

1. “Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow. I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall. A11even.”

That was a real quote that Nets guard Kyrie Irving gave to The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Monday after he made the heroic decision to take $37 million from Brooklyn instead of opting out of his contract.

In Kyrie’s universe, taking the most money you can get somehow makes you different.

Kyrie patting himself on the back caused many NBA fans to roll their eyes, while others had an epiphany about who Kyrie has morphed into:

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Other NBA fans immediately thought of food when they read Kyrie’s quote:

Other NBA fans just went for good, old-fashioned mocking.

2. This Sunday’s exclusive MLB game on Peacock between the Tigers and Royals will not have announcers in the booth or a traditional call of the game.

From Peacock’s press release:

"MLB Sunday Leadoff’s presentation of the Detroit Tigers hosting the Kansas City Royals this Sunday, July 3 at Noon ET on Peacock will feature a unique broadcast without any commentators in the booth as viewers will be taken inside the ballpark to experience the game from different viewpoints and perspectives.

“MLB Sunday Leadoff host and in-game reporter Ahmed Fareed, former Tigers outfielder and current Bally Sports Detroit analyst Craig Monroe, and NBC Sports’ Britney Eurton will take fans around Detroit’s Comerica Park throughout the game, providing viewers with a tour of the ballpark, unique viewpoints, conversations with special guests, and more.”

3. Kyle Brandt has a lot of great recurring bits on Good Morning Football. One of them is breaking down the annual NFL Network staff photo. He did so this morning and the Ian Rapoport section is outstanding.

4. The NHL and NBA both experience ratings increases over 2020 and ’21 for their respective postseasons, but were both down from the pre-COVID-19 world of ’19 thanks to cord-cutting.

5. The Joc Pederson–Tommy Pham fantasy football scandal continues to provide great content weeks after Pham slapped Pederson. On Chris Rose’s podcast, Braves pitchers Tyler Matzek and Josh Tomlin, who played with Pederson last season, explained how Pederson spent all year dodging Pham because he knew things would get physical.

6. The latest SI Media Podcast features a conversation with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt.

The SportsCenter host talks about the adrenaline rush of doing live postgame shows after the NBA Finals, his back-and-forth with Draymond Green about “new media” vs. media and Steph Curry’s likability. Van Pelt also shares his thoughts on LIV golf and explains the various issues that LIV faces as they try to get off the ground.

Other topics covered with Van Pelt include why sporting events need more singalongs, why betting baseball is bad, the best James Corden “Carpool Karaokes,” why it’s still taboo to admit you do something for money and much more.

Following the conversation with Van Pelt, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY in New York, joins Jimmy for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, the guys break talk about whether they could still work for a company they sued, à la Sage Steele, The Athletic’s “no politics” Twitter policy and the state of stand-up comedy.

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

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since we started with Michael Scott and a bizarre announcement from Kyrie Irving, let’s end with a bizarre Michael Scott announcement.

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, Instagram and TikTok.

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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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