SI

Hot Mic Catches Shaq Complaining to Charles Barkley About TNT Not Airing Jersey Ceremony

Also in Traina Thoughts: JJ Redick is back with a bang; MLB players still hate new jerseys; WWE announcers loved The Rock’s heel turn and more.

Jimmy Traina

1. The only thing better than Inside the NBA is an unfiltered Inside the NBA.

Now, for a show that airs on basic cable, Inside the NBA is fairly unfiltered, but a leaked video of the crew talking during a break at All-Star Weekend is completely unfiltered.

In the clip, Shaq made it known that he was not happy his own network, TNT, did not air his recent Orlando Magic jersey retirement ceremony.

This led to pushback from Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson, who explained that the jersey ceremony aired on NBA TV.

Barkley: You said they didn’t show you any respect putting your s--- on NBA TV.

O’Neal: That’s not complaining. I was just telling a f---ing snitch. Telling people what they think I think.

Barkley: First of all, they didn’t have to show the s---.

Kenny Smith then got involved in the conversation and took Shaq’s side. This led to Barkley asking, “What’s wrong with NBA TV?”

“It’s like TruTV,” answered Smith.

Shaq then teased Barkley about being a “f---ing company guy.”

Barkley later told Smith to get off Shaq’s private area.

Inevitably, the conversation led to Shaq mocking Barkley for never winning an NBA title.

The entire five-minute clip is absolute gold and should have TNT executives searching for a way to get these four an unfiltered outlet to air all of their conversations.

2. Talk about making a return!

JJ Redick appeared on First Take Tuesday for the first time in months.

Redick came in hot, blasting new Bucks coach Doc Rivers (whom, ironically, Redick is replacing on ESPN’s lead NBA crew) for always making excuses.

This led to Redick being called out by Austin Rivers, Doc’s son, during an ESPN appearance.

NBA player Pat Beverley also called out Redick on Twitter, which led to Redick firing back.

It’s good to have JJ back on First Take.

3. The ongoing saga of MLB’s new jerseys getting trashed by players continues.

“I know everyone hates them,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner recently said. “We all liked what we had. We understand business, but I think everyone wanted to keep it the same way, for the most part, with some tweaks here or there.”

One Baltimore Orioles players weighed in, with T.J. Maxx catching a stray.

“I think that the performance wear might feel nice,” one veteran position player said, “but the look of it is like a knockoff jersey from T.J. Maxx.”

Meanwhile, another Orioles player wasn’t happy about the new colors.

“I think one of the things that comes down to the jerseys is they’re a different color this year. They’re like a brighter orange. You can even see it in the hats, you can see how much brighter this one is. And so you look like a pumpkin when you’re out there.”

4. I don't understand how in 2024 Major League Baseball players are still parking their cars anywhere near the fields where they practice, but at least it leads to good content.

On Tuesday, Reds star Elly De La Cruz hit a foul ball that smashed the window of teammate Hunter Greene, with Greene demanding restitution.

5. This was great. WWE announcer Corey Graves had the same reaction as all of us to the return of the old-school heel Rock on SmackDown last week.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina is an all–Traina Thoughts, post–Super Bowl edition with Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY.

Topics discussed include Tony Romo’s performance calling the Big Game, the massive confusion about the overtime rules, the halftime show, whether the game should start earlier in the day, the awful injury suffered by the San Francisco 49ers’ Dre Greenlaw and whether Kyle Shanahan made the right move by taking the ball in overtime.

Other topics include CBS’s outstanding special You Are Looking Live!, on the history of the NFL Today pregame show; whether betting on a game changes the way you watch sports; the latest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm; the post–NFL season blues; the best type of pretzel and much 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 Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I’m still obsessed with Netflix’s documentary on the making of “We Are the World”after watching it this weekend. Yesterday, I posted a clip of Stevie Wonder helping Bob Dylan sing like Bob Dylan. Another highlight was watching Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper and Kim Carnes nail their part. This is a great, extended look at how that went.

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.

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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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