Joe Burrow Drops Major Flex When Asked About Going to Taylor Swift Concert

Also in Traina Thoughts: Get rich off the Oakland A’s; NBA Finals ratings; Vegas crowd’s impressive sing-a-long and more.

1. The nickname “Joe Cool” is so damn clichéd, but it really couldn’t fit any better for Joe Burrow.

The Bengals quarterback was asked Tuesday whether he was going to attend one of the upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Cincinnati.

Unlike other NFL stars, such as Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Watt, who are confirmed Swifties, Burrow offered props to the pop sensation but kept it real.

“I have a lot of respect for what Taylor Swift has done with her career,” said Burrow. “I can’t say that I’m listening to too much Taylor Swift on the speakers in the headphones. I know a lot of people that are, but that’s just not me. I’ve heard the tour is a lot of fun, though. Maybe I’ll stop by.”

MAYBE I’LL STOP BY! What a freakin’ flex!

Swift’s Era’s Tour is like the hottest ticket ever, prices through the roof, real fans shut out, demand as high as possible and Burrow is all, “Maybe I’ll stop by.”

It can't get any more Joe Cool than that.

Burrow then elaborated on his musical tastes after casually mentioning that he might grace Swift with his presence.

“I’m kind of all over the place. I’ll listen to some indie, I’ll listen to some hip hop, some pop. I’ll listen to just about anything but country. I’m not a country guy.”

Joe Burrow "might stop by" Taylor Swift concert at Paycor at end of the month. pic.twitter.com/cfvt0opgJa

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) June 13, 2023

Burrow was already my second-favorite NFL player behind Patrick Mahomes, but I may have to move him into the top spot after this admission. Like Burrow, it’s anything but country for me. This was a text exchange with my cousin just last week.

2. The lowly A’s have come out of nowhere to win seven games in a row. If you’ve been riding them as underdogs, you’ve made a pretty penny, as you can see by this surreal breakdown.

The Oakland A's have won SEVEN straight games, all as at least +150 ML underdogs:

11-2 at PIT (+244)✅
9-5 at PIT (+158)✅
5-2 at MIL (+215) ✅
2-1 at MIL (+151)✅
8-6 at MIL (+176)✅
4-3 vs. TB (+230)✅
2-1 vs. TB (+175)✅

A $100 ML bet rolled over would now be $175K

— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) June 14, 2023

3. Denver’s NBA title, clinching a Game 5 win over Miami drew 13,084,000 viewers for ABC. That’s up slightly from last year’s Game 5 between Golden State and Boston, which drew 13,016,000 viewers. The Nuggets’ victory peaked in the closing minutes with 17,833,000 viewers.

Sports Media Watch reports that the Denver-Miami series was down only 6% from last year, which is not terrible considering last year’s Finals featured two teams that get way more buzz in the Warriors and Celtics.

Here is the long-term viewership trend for the NBA Finals: pic.twitter.com/D16PYBIiUd

— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) June 14, 2023

 4. This was a great scene in Las Vegas on Tuesday night when the Golden Knights crowd sang along to Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” at a very high volume.

My own worst enemy. pic.twitter.com/vQyJrS4LAq

— Ryan The Hockey Guy (@RyanHockeyGuy) June 14, 2023

5. A new edition of my SI Media Mailbag was posted Wednesday morning. Check it out here, and make sure you send me any questions you may have for next week’s mailbag. You can email them to Jimmy.Traina@si.com or send them via Twitter.

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: One of my readers emailed to follow up on the news of Pat Sajak’s Wheel of Fortune retirement announcement to ask whether I could feature Snoop’s amazing appearance on the show.

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.