SI

Luck and Timing Give ESPN Incredible ‘Monday Night Football’ Moment

The connection between Taylor Swift and the Saints’ Khalen Saunders paid off big time.

Jimmy Traina

Saunders showed off impressive speed returning an interception against the Chiefs.
Saunders showed off impressive speed returning an interception against the Chiefs. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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1. All of the nonsense NFL viewers have had to put up with during games with Taylor Swift in the building finally paid off on Monday night.

In a moment ESPN could not have scripted more perfectly, Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders picked off Patrick Mahomes immediately after we learned that Saunders’s brother was a backup dancer for Swift.

But it wasn’t that simple.

Saunders had just tackled Travis Kelce on a play near the goal line. This prompted Joe Buck to explain to viewers that Saunders’s brother, Kameron, was on stage with Kelce during the Eras Tour concert in which Kelce joined his girlfriend.

ESPN then rolled a video package with pictures of Kelce and Kameron from the concert.

On the very next play, Khalen picked off Mahomes in the end zone, and that in itself was special because Saunders is 6'0", 324 pounds, and the big fella took off.

“And there he is,” yelled Buck. “Khalen Saunders! And he took it out. Big Khalen rumbling!”

The way the entire sequence broke down was amazing. Just a perfect television moment.

Meanwhile, on the national radio side, Kevin Harlan was calling the game for Westwood One. Yesterday’s Traina Thoughts led with a Harlan appreciation, and the play-by-play guy clearly wasn’t going to rest on his laurels after that honor, because he gave us one of his vintage calls, referring to Saunders's interception as a “Thicc Pick.”

2. Speaking of the Swift nonsense, I don’t know if that audible “ugh” from Bill Belichick on Monday’s ManningCast was because ESPN decided to show her on screen for the millionth time, but I’m sure as hell going to be believe it was. Especially with the way Peyton and Eli snickered.

This was another great moment from Belichick on the ManningCast.

3. I was trying to watch the Royals-Yankees game in the middle of TBS’s documentary on George Brett on Monday night and couldn’t believe this call from Bob Costas.

Not only was the sadness in Costas’s voice after the Royals turned two bizarre, so was his immediate defense of Giancarlo Stanton. It’s not Stanton’s fault he can’t run and is always hurt? Whose fault is it? Plus, how does Costas just completely ignore Bobby Witt Jr. making a very slick play?

But I guess I can’t fault Costas for not nailing the call since his main job last night was to give us history lessons on Brett.

4. Big get for Jim Rome on Monday. He spoke to Adrian Wojnarowski and got his take on ESPN hiring Shams Charania as his replacement.

5. Twitter is awful on every level, but every now and then you still see a tweet that just leaves you in disbelief.

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 who ESPN was looking at to replace Wojnarowski as its top NBA insider prior to hiring Charania (episode recorded before the news); 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 Ringer joins the podcast to discuss Netflix’s Mr. McMahon, a 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 me for our 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: With the Jets firing Robert Saleh and Bill Belchick being available, we should remember the time Belichick coached the team for a day.

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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