Five Sports Figures We’d Like to See Replace Pat Sajak As ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host

Also in Traina Thoughts: Nikola Jokic’s big night; NBA 2024 title odds; Mark Jackson gets it right this time and more.

1. Longtime Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak announced Monday that the upcoming season of the show, his 41st at the helm, will be his last.

Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)

— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) June 12, 2023

Given that Wheel of Fortune is a piece of Americana, the job will be highly coveted. If the show decides it would like to get radical and dip into the sports world for a new host, I have five suggestions.

• Charles Barkley: Barkley should forget about his upcoming CNN show and go for Sajak’s job. He’d be great for one simple reason: He has no filter. So when a contestant flubs a puzzle, Barkley can do his thing. You can just hear him saying, “America, do you believe this fool?”

• Gus Johnson: Imagine Gus making the call when a contestant spins the wheel and it lands on “Lose a Turn” or a big money amount? Pure electric.

• Peyton and Eli Manning: This would have to be a package deal so they can rib each other and the contestants throughout the show. Given how Peyton can’t hide his frustration with poor quarterback play and coaches who don’t know when to call timeouts during their ManningCast, it would be fun to see Peyton cringe when a contestant buys a vowel when it’s totally unnecessary.

• Rob Gronkowski: I’d love for the lovable Gronk to host just to see whether he would ever get tripped up on the spelling while reading all the puzzles.

my moms home made Chicken Sue flay. Super delicious and yummy! #sixstargronkchat https://t.co/AU11V5aWdR

— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) November 17, 2015

2. The two best highlights of the Nuggets winning the NBA title on Monday was (1) Nikola Jokić’s reaction to finding out that team’s championship parade won’t be until Thursday and (2) Jokić’s pushing Jamal Murray into a pool.

Jokić was asked if he's looking forward to the Championship parade.

"No. I need to go home." 🤣 pic.twitter.com/1ZkPSG6mFe

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 13, 2023

Jokic throws Jamal Murray into the pool 😭 pic.twitter.com/h75zpzEgHm

— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2023

3. If you’d like to get in a very early prop, these are your 2024 NBA championship odds.

2024 NBA Odds

DEN +450
BOS +650
MIL +800
PHX +850
DAL +900
GS, PHI +1200
LAL +1400
LAC +1600
MEM +1800
NO +2000
MIA +2200
CLE +2500
NY, SAC +3300
MIN +4000
ATL +5500
TOR +6600
BKN, OKC +8500
HOU, POR, SA +10000
CHI, UT +12500
IND, ORL +15000
WAS +20000
CHA +30000
DET +40000

— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) June 13, 2023

4. ESPN’s Mark Jackson caused a big stir when he revealed that he had mistakenly left Nikola Jokić off his regular-season MVP ballot, so he was very happy to redeem himself last night.

"I'm just so glad I got my MVP vote right this time. I can go home and sleep peacefully."

Mark Jackson hilariously trolled himself after voting Nikola Jokic for Finals MVP 🤣pic.twitter.com/dJFHLdafh2

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 13, 2023

5. Former NFL running back Peyton Hillis appeared on Tuesday's Good Morning America to speak for the first time about the horrific swimming accident he experienced in January, and it was extremely powerful.

EXCLUSIVE: "It is 100% a miracle that somebody didn't die.”

Former NFL running back @thepeytonhillis recounts saving his son and niece from a rip current while swimming at a Florida beach earlier this year to @michaelstrahan. https://t.co/pLuI3UJRiO pic.twitter.com/9RGABST2EP

— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 13, 2023

6. This week’s episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina 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.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In honor of Pat Sajak's retirement announcement, here's an all-time puzzle guess debacle.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.