Joe Buck Responds to His Viral ‘Handshake’ With Commanders Owner Josh Harris

Also in Traina Thoughts: Jon Hamm’s embarrassing fantasy football moment; an all-time great sports quote; ‘Sopranos’ spoof and more.

1. Here’s how you know (1) the NFL rules this country in a way that is hard to explain; (2) we are in the dog days of summer: The biggest story in sports at this very moment is new Commanders owner Josh Harris giving Joe Buck a totally miscalculated handshake during Washington’s game against Baltimore on Monday Night Football last night.

Harris joined Buck and Troy Aikman for an interview, and, at one point, Joe stuck out his hand while speaking and Harris went in for a handshake that was hilariously awkward.

I can’t stop watching it. Such a hilarious miscalculation on a handshake pic.twitter.com/QafPBAr8YT

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) August 22, 2023

There are so many layers here. Buck DOES leave his hand out in the handshake position. Harris WAS so aggressive in going for the handshake. Viewers can actually feel the awkwardness of the handshake come through the screen. Aikman wants to bust out laughing so badly but remains professional.

Given the magnitude of this broadcasting moment, I reached out to Buck on Tuesday morning to get his thoughts.

“For the record, ANY time a billionaire wants to shake my hand, I’m in,” said Buck. “He’s a great guy. We were at a wedding together last year for a mutual friend, so I knew him a little. There’s a lot of stuff flying around that booth when a game is happening. So he was probably a little nervous. It was a fun interview with a man who has totally changed the feel around an entire organization in a month. Good for him.”

Buck did add, though, that Aikman laughing makes him laugh.

Meanwhile, Aikman told me, “I knew Joe was hand-gesturing and then I caught Josh shaking his hand. I thought it was really funny, but tried not to react knowing we were on camera.”

Aikman trying not to react but still reacting was a huge hit with viewers.

Harris deserves a massive amount of credit for not getting flustered. If I miscalculate a handshake like this, I’m shook for at least a half hour. Harris kept his cool and plowed through the interview with no issues.

Meanwhile, here’s a sampling of how the internet reacted to the handshake.

2. The Commanders ended the Ravens’ preseason 24-game winning streak on a last-second field goal in the game. Washington players seemed fired up about ending the streak.

Wideout Jahan Dotson was very happy after the win.

Offensive lineman Sam Cosmi busted out the Griddy.

Kicker Joey Slye let the Ravens know the streak was over.

And limited partner Magic Johnson gave us a typical Magic tweet.

I know it’s only preseason but the @Commanders victory over the Ravens to end their NFL preseason win streak was a lot of fun for Commanders fans!

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 22, 2023

3. This was great. Red Sox analyst Kevin Millar correctly predicted an Adam Duvall three-run homer against the Astros on Monday night.

4. This story, told by Jimmy Kimmel on The Howard Stern Show last year, about how Mad Men star Jon Hamm once got kicked out of a fantasy football league, is worth your time.

5. Happy 72nd birthday to legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells, the man responsible for one of my all-time favorite sports quotes.

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football and Fox NFL Kickoff.

Schrager discusses what his travel schedule is like during the season, when he has to commute from New York City to Los Angeles every weekend, what his goal is when reporting for Fox NFL Kickoff, and the huge broadcast and media changes coming to the NFL for the 2023 season.

Other topics covered include why this is set up to be a great NFL season, a sleeper MVP candidate, Netflix’s Quarterback series and much more.

Following Schrager, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss our early opinions on NFL team win total over/unders, why giving up fantasy football is a great life decision, the Blind Side controversy, the Johnny Manziel Netflix documentary and more.

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: These TikTokers give us a look at what a 2023 version of The Sopranos would look like. Creativity gets a 10. Dialogue gets a 9. The acting from Christopher and Paulie gets an 8.5

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.