SI

CBS’s Kevin Harlan Put on a Clinic During Wild Ravens-Bengals Game

Lamar Jackson and Kevin Harlan are a match made in heaven for NFL viewers.

Jimmy Traina

Kevin Harlan was the perfect person to call the Ravens’ overtime win over the Bengals.
Kevin Harlan was the perfect person to call the Ravens’ overtime win over the Bengals. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

1. For those of you who don’t know how the media game works, let me give you a quick lesson.

If I got on here every Monday morning and led Traina Thoughts blasting a broadcaster or a particular game telecast, more people than usual would read the column, I’d get great pageviews and when my bosses saw the traffic report, they’d be happy.

If I lead Traina Thoughts praising a broadcaster, my readership suffers dramatically.

It’s a sad state of affairs, but that’s the reality. The other reality is that I don’t want to come here and bash people every Monday after watching an entire weekend of football. Trust me, I can easily do that, but I want to praise as much as I bash.

So, today I’m leading things off with a simple appreciation of Kevin Harlan because his performance in Sunday’s Ravens-Bengals battle was as thrilling as the game itself.

Harlan’s call that got the most attention was Lamar Jackson’s touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely after the QB initially fumbled the snap with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

In this call, Harlan managed to pull off, “Scoops it in, vacuums it home” and “Oh, he threw him away like a rag doll,” before the incredible call of the touchdown.

On this call of Jackson escaping a sack late in the second quarter, Harlan said the Ravens quarterback was as “slippery as a rain drop.” Just fantastic.

My favorite Harlan call of the day came on a 70-yard touchdown catch by Ja’Marr Chase. I loved the use of “off the races.” Plus, the way Harlan hit that “touchdownnnnnnnnnn” as Chase entered the end zone was perfect.

What’s truly wild about Harlan is that he always gets CBS’s third-best game every week, with Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle ahead of him on the depth chart.

Sunday was a rare week in which we got lucky that Harlan was on a top-level matchup because CBS made the head-scratching decision to give Nantz and Tony Romo the juiceless Packers-Rams game, which left Harlan with the intriguing Ravens-Bengals matchup (Eagle and Charles Davis had Bills-Texans).

And it worked out beautifully for viewers.

2. Whoever the person is at Fox who told Tom Brady to screech "OH," during plays is not doing the first-year analyst any favors.

3. Here’s what I’ve noticed about broadcast booths during the MLB postseason across all the networks (ESPN, TBS, Fox): Either the play-by-play guy is good and the analyst(s) are bad or the play-by-play guy is bad and the analyst(s) are good. No network has seemed to nail a booth in which all parties are good and it’s a problem.

Having said that, if you like electric calls, Fox’s Adam Amin is for you. These three calls from Sunday’s 7–6 Phillies win over the Mets were outstanding.

A two-run homer by Bryce Harper.

A game-tying home run by Mark Vientos.

A game-winning hit by Nick Castellanos.

If, on the other hand, you aren’t fond of electric calls, and prefer your play-by-play guy to have the feel of someone calling a funeral, TBS’s Bob Costas is for you.

4. This was a great opening to last night’s Cowboys-Steelers game on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

5. In case you missed it on Saturday, the scene of Vanderbilt fans carrying the goalpost through the streets of Nashville and then dumping it into the Cumberland River after Vandy's upset over Alabama was pretty hilarious.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features two main guests.

First up is The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand on all the latest sports media news. Topics covered include ESPN looking at Shams Charania, Jeff Passan and Chris Haynes as possible replacements for Adrian Wojnarowski as its top NBA insider; what ESPN will do about its top NBA booth featuring Mike Breen and Doris Burke after losing JJ Redick; how Tom Brady has done as an analyst after four games; how Cris Collinsworth’s new contract affects Greg Olsen; Tony Romo’s improvement; an old-fashion Twitter fight between reporters and much more.

Following Marchand, David Shoemaker from The Ringers joins the podcast to discuss Netflix's “Mr. McMahon” six-part docuseries in which he was a producer and talking head. Shoemaker shares details on the making of the doc, how a bombshell lawsuit against Vince McMahon during production affected the documentary, what it was like for the makers to interview McMahon, the McMahon family dynamic and much more.

Following Shoemaker, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins Jimmy for their weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s conversation covers the MLB playoffs, NFL scheduling issues, Dana Carvey, Saturday Night Live, Sal’s knowledge of presidents and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date in 1992, one of the great arguments of our time took place: Was it the “Moops” or the “Moors”?

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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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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