1. Anyone who may ever make a lighthearted blunder should take a lesson from Dick Vitale on how to handle the fallout from their slipup.
The legendary college basketball announcer flipped on the NFL Network on Thursday night and saw the Packers playing the Lions.
Given that the two teams are scheduled to play this week and it was a Thursday night, Vitale thought the game was live and took to Twitter to offer some commentary.
Of course, this was a replay of Detroit’s 15–9 win over Green Bay in Week 9. The Lions and Packers will play this Sunday night in Lambeau Field, and Thursday Night Football on Amazon ended last week.
After becoming aware he was watching an old game, Vitale offered a solid mea culpa.
Don’t worry, Dickie V. You’re still awesome, baby!
2. A new SI Media Podcast dropped this morning, and my guest this week is author and reporter Jim Miller. The bulk of the conversation is about ESPN’s coverage of Damar Hamlin’s injury on Monday Night Football and why the network deserves nothing but praise.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
3. Charles Barkley let an expletive fly on Inside the NBA last night, which led to some great reactions from his cohosts.
4. Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points in Utah’s 131–114 win against Houston on Thursday, so his teammates celebrated by dousing him in water, but one Jazz player got a tad aggressive at the end.
5. One J.J. Watt fan decided to celebrate his upcoming retirement from the NFL by sending him a taxidermy badger.
6. Kirk Herbstreit describing Al Michaels’s in-game eating habits during Thursday-night football games is so good.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: So 77-year-old Vince McMahon is back with the WWE and plans to take over as chairman of the company once again. This isn’t totally shocking to longtime WWE fans who never thought McMahon would ever leave the company. I just hope that if Vince is back, he’s also going to return as an on-air character so we can get more moments like this.
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, Instagram and TikTok.
