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Stephen A. Smith Gives Masterful Performance Breaking Down Zion Williamson Scandal

Also in Traina Thoughts: New ‘SI Media’ podcast; Joe Burrow takes batting practice; LIV-PGA gets ‘The Office’ treatment; and much more.

Jimmy Traina

1. Usually in the lead item of “Traina Thoughts,” I write  a few paragraphs of whatever topic I'm covering, sometimes a little more.

Today, I'm barely going to write anything. 

I'm just going to tell you that the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson and his girlfriend recently announced that they are expecting a baby. This news caused an adult film star to take to Twitter and make all sorts of graphic accusations about her supposed relationship with Williamson in a series of rage tweets.

And now, without further ado, I present to you Stephen A. Smith's reaction to this sordid tale via his podcast. Enjoy.

2. A brand-new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Thursday morning, and it features an interview with Radio Hall of Famer Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.

Russo talks about radio shows vs. podcasts, how radio has changed over the years and how sports talk hosts can no longer just do sports. 

He also shares his thoughts on reupping with First Take for another year, how his relationship with JJ Redick has improved over the past few months and Pat McAfee joining ESPN.

Other topics covered with Russo include flex scheduling coming to Thursday Night Football, the NFL putting a playoff game exclusively on Peacock, the problem MLB and the NBA face in this day and age, getting blowback for not liking the WBC, Bruce Springsteen’s latest tour, his son landing a job as an assistant basketball coach at Northern Arizona, why it’s so awful to fly in America and much more.

Following Russo, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss my McAfee interview from last week’s podcast, the Succession series finale and more. I also read all the May reviews left on Apple for the podcast.

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

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

3. A couple of weeks ago we featured Bills quarterback Josh Allen hitting bombs at a charity softball game. Now we have Joe Burrow going deep a few times during batting practice with the Reds on Wednesday.

Before his afternoon with the Reds, Burrow also wanted to remind everyone of the ridiculous narrative that surrounded him coming out of LSU.

4. Listen to the electric call from Reds TV announcer John Sadak on rookie Elly De La Cruz, who was called up on Tuesday, going deep for the first time his career Wednesday night.

5. A lot of people made the joke that the LIV-PGA merger was the equivalent to Dunder Mifflin merging with the Michael Scott Paper Company. The Washington Post took things a step further and actually acted this out.

6. The Diamondbacks’ outfielders have come up with an interesting postgame celebration routine.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I mentioned the Iron Sheik’s death in yesterday’s “Traina Thoughts,” but he deserves to be featured again. If you watched wrestling in the ’80s, you know that nobody except for maybe Roddy Piper could draw as much heat as the Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. Just look at this MSG crowd getting all worked up over their antics.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the SI Media With 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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