Al Michaels: ‘People Tune in to Watch a Football Game. I’m Not Doing Access Hollywood.’

Also in Traina Thoughts: Colorado hype dies down; Ben Simmons’s biggest fan; Lance Bass offers a clarification and more.

1. Al Michaels appeared on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the host wasted no time getting into the topic of Taylor Swift.

Michaels had told me before last Thursday's Broncos-Chiefs game that Amazon would show the pop star in moderation. He expanded on that philosophy with Kimmel.

“We had to be judicious,” said Michaels. “We had the game last Thursday night in Kansas City. We knew she’s going to be there. How much do you show her? She’d been on twice, and football fans were going, ‘ENOUGH!’ But we were praying she’d come in the booth and sing for us.”

Michaels added, “I had to acknowledge it, but what do you do? You can’t fool around, otherwise people will say that sounds hokey and the whole thing. We had a shot of her, and I didn’t know how to describe her.”

Kimmel then played the clip of Michaels saying Swift was Kelce’s “good buddy and girlfriend,” which got laughs from the studio audience.

“It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” said Michaels. “I’m not doing Access Hollywood. At a certain point, it’s like where do you go from here?”

Michaels’s entire appearance with Kimmel is worth your time, with the legendary broadcaster touching on a variety of subjects including his famous gambling references, calling the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase and more.

2. Colorado fever has definitely faded over recent weeks. With Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes playing against Stanford at 10 p.m. ET last Friday, the game drew 3.3 million viewers. That’s a solid number for the time slot, but a huge drop-off compared to what Colorado was drawing this season.

Sept. 2, at TCU: 7.2 million
Sept. 9, vs. Nebraska: 8.7 million
Sept. 16, at Colorado State: 9.3 million
Sept. 23, at Oregon: 10.4 million
Sept. 30, vs. USC: 7.2 million
Oct. 13, vs. Stanford: 3.3 million

The Buffaloes game Oct. 7 against Arizona State is not listed because the game aired on the Pac-12 Network.

3. If you’re a RedZone fan who misses the DirecTV version hosted by Andrew Siciliano, here’s a little taste of Siciliano for you. He was handling play-by-play duties on Browns radio Sunday, filling in for Jim Donovan, who is on medical leave. Here’s Siciliano’s call of the Niners’ missed field goal at the end of regulation, which gave Cleveland the upset win.

Chills @NathanZegura and @AndrewSiciliano. Chills 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/irD5gV4fxn

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 17, 2023

4. I don’t think there is a more maligned player in the NBA today than Ben Simmons. However, Simmons does have at least one fan. And he’s super dedicated.

This fan has a @BenSimmons25 tattoo 🤯😤 pic.twitter.com/mDYqFu0fEy

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 16, 2023

5. Lance Bass attended Monday’s Chargers-Cowboys game and made sure there wasn’t any confusion about his presence when he was shown on the jumbotron.

They showed Lance Bass on the scoreboard. He made sure NFL fans knew he was not Taylor Swift. 😂 pic.twitter.com/dVribcTEN6

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) October 17, 2023

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with Monday Night Football’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Among the topics covered: passing John Madden and Pat Summerall as the longest-tenured network broadcast team in their 22nd year together, Aikman’s relationship with Madden, why Buck will never call baseball for ESPN, Aikman’s opinion on whether the Tush Push should be banned, Tom Brady’s going to Aikman for advice on becoming a television analyst, Aikman’s philosophy for being critical of players, how Aikman would use Twitter to bust Buck’s chops and much more.

Following Buck and Aikman, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss Jerry Seinfeld’s teasing some sort of Seinfeld reunion regarding the series finale. Jimmy also answers reader-submitted questions in a new mailbag segment.

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: Today, Oct. 17, really should be a national holiday. This was the day we were introduced to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Before the show became a series, HBO aired a one-hour movie that was a mock documentary about Larry’s life. This special then led to the glorious series. You can watch the full special here. Below is a clip.

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.