SI

All-Mailbag Traina Thoughts: NBA on Amazon, Sports Betting Programming and More

Amazon would be smart to pair Ian Eagle and Blake Griffin on NBA games.

Jimmy Traina

The entertaining Griffin would be an excellent hire for Amazon’s NBA coverage.
The entertaining Griffin would be an excellent hire for Amazon’s NBA coverage. / David Banks-Imagn Images

I will have a traditional Traina Thoughts column for you tomorrow, plus not one, but TWO brand new SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcasts for you to get you through the long holiday weekend. Then I’ll see you again on Monday.

For today, it’s an all-mailbag edition of Traina Thoughts. I asked you all for questions, and you came through, as always. Here we go.

Ian Eagle is reportedly in talks to become Amazon Prime’s lead play-by-play caller. All of the current TNT on-air talent, from Kevin Harlan to Reggie Miller to Stan Van Gundy, will be in play for Amazon. I would also expect Amazon to pursue Blake Griffin, who has the potential to be a huge sports media star based on his sense of humor and personality.

My guess is that Amazon would use Griffin in studio, but I’d love to see him do games with Eagle. They would easily become the NBA’s most entertaining booth.

I don’t have a clue how much Shaq will make, but I think Shaq will sign with multiple partners. I think he will definitely re-sign with Warner Bros. Discovery to continue on Inside the NBA and then I think he will also ink a deal with Amazon or NBC for another role.

I doubt CBS regrets it because the SEC would’ve cost them way more money than the Big Ten. ESPN is paying $300 million a year for the SEC rights. CBS was paying $55 million less for the SEC when it had the rights. But you get what you pay for. I do think CBS and NBC made big mistakes going all-in on the Big Ten, which offers a ton of terrible games on a weekly basis. The SEC is the package to have in college football.

What a great question, especially during Thanksgiving week, although people who are reading but don’t follow the WWE have no clue what this means.

For those who don’t know their wrestling history, Seth is basically asking what’s been an overhyped media moment that turned out to be a huge dud.

I think it would have to be ESPN putting together the Monday Night Football booth of Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland and Jason Witten. They put McFarland on a crane and Witten, to say it kindly, was not good, and the booth lasted one year.

This is a fascinating question that I’d like the answer to as well. Rob Manfred said he wants hold the digital and linear rights for all 30 MLB teams starting in 2028. I have no idea how this would work for the handful of teams that currently air on successful local networks, such as the Yankees on YES, the Red Sox on NESN, the Mets on SNY and a few others.

I just don’t know what Manfred can say or do to make those clubs give up their rights to join the remaining teams in being part of his plan to nationalize (i.e. sell the games to Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services) the regular-season telecasts.

I think sports gambling programming, in terms of handicapping and picks, has crapped out. (Here’s a little secret for everyone: There’s absolutely no such thing as a gambling expert). There’s a space for content like Bad Beats and live streams centered around sports betting. But networks trying to go with traditional studio shows for sports betting is a recipe for failure. Sports gambling, however, will continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

No chance on earth I’d make that trade. I despise the runner-on-second gimmick in the regular season, let alone the playoffs. You can’t play the game a certain way for nine innings and then change all the rules for the 10th inning on. It's beyond dumb.

I don’t know if they’re necessarily overproduced, but they are all too long, have too many people on them and are all the same.

The NFL Network has a million people on their Sunday show. ESPN does a three-hour pregame show. Hell, Fox has not one, but TWO pregame shows. It’s just all so much.

But these shows are important to the networks for tonnage and ratings. They’re also vehicles to promote the NFL. They’re not produced for me and you.

I just don’t understand why there can’t be one show that’s 30 minutes long with two people who just run down the upcoming games and maybe thrown in an interview or two. But I’m a simple man.

I feel like I get this question every time I do a mailbag. I wrote some very critical things about Mike Francesa’s show in his last few years at WFAN, so I think it would be a crappy thing to call him up and ask him to do me the favor of coming on my podcast now. Plus, a lot of the questions I’d have for Mike would be negative and critical, so I think it would be disingenuous to invite him on.

Forget getting pizza anywhere right near Madison Square Garden. Get in a taxi or put on your walking shoes and take a little trip 1.5 miles away for two of the best options in all of New York City.

If you want to have a sit-down restaurant experience, go to John’s of Bleecker Street. They don’t offer slices, just brick oven pies.

If you want a traditional slice, go to Joe’s on Carmine Street. If you want to be a glutton, try both places because they are just a minute away from each other. You won’t be disappointed with either place.

I’ve been to the movies three times since 2020, when COVID-19 hit. I saw Air (great movie), I saw The Iron Claw about the Von Erich family (decent movie) and I recently saw Saturday Night (fun movie). I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Wicked doesn’t make the cut.

Best side dish is easily stuffing. My aunt makes it with tiny pieces of crumbled sausage and it’s pure heaven. Worst side dish is that vile cranberry nonsense.

Here are some questions I got on Instagram:

What’s your favorite Kevin Harlan call of all-time? —thejshield

It’s hard not to go with this.

If you want a call from actual game action, this is my pick.

On average, how many of Scott Van Pelt’s Bad Beats do you have action on? —crborgman

My estimate is two per week, which isn’t terrible considering how many games I bet each Saturday.

Published
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.

Home/Media