SI Media With Jimmy Traina

Episode 610 of ‘SI Media With Jimmy Traina’ features an interview with ‘Inside the NBA’s’ Charles Barkley.

Barkley defends ‘Inside the NBA’s’ first season on ESPN, calls out the NBA for its playoff scheduling, reacts to his recent dust-up with Draymond Green, and expresses his excitement for ‘Inside the NBA’ to work the NBA Finals for the first time ever.

In addition, Barkley weighs in on ESPN’s Shams Charania spoiling the MVP announcement, LeBron James’s future, the NCAA expanding to a field of 76 teams, patching things up with Michael Jordan...

Episode 609 of “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” features an interview with NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning, Mike North.

North discusses all things 2026 NFL schedule. Topics include whether Sunday afternoons are getting hurt by adding so many standalone games, when the schedule actually gets finalized and when teams get the schedule, how flex scheduling will work for the 2026 season and why the NFL added a game on Thanksgiving Eve.

In addition, North talks about going with the Chiefs in primetime for the first two weeks of the season, why the...

Episode 608 of “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” features segments with Richard Deitsch of “Sports Business Journal” and Mike Vaccaro of the “New York Post.”

The podcast kicks off with Jimmy and Deitsch discussing the latest sports media news. Topics include ratings for the NFL draft, NBA playoffs and Kentucky Derby, the status of “Inside the NBA,” CBS having interest in Russell Wilson, whether ESPN should have interest in Steve Kerr, the future of Dianna Russini and much more.

Following Deitsch, Vaccaro joins the podcast to discuss the legendary career of John Sterling...

Episode 607 of “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” features a conversation with “Good Morning Football’s” Kyle Brandt.

Brandt talks about working again with Peter Schrager at the NFL draft, what it’s been like since ESPN took over NFL Network, and fooling people into thinking he had a fight with WWE superstar Seth Rollins on set.

In addition, Brandt talks about why he’s in favor of studio shows being on-site, whether he’d like to branch out into covering other sports, why it was so cool to work with Mel Kiper J...

Episode 606 of “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” features an interview with The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis about the latest sports media news.

Curtis talks about the latest developments in the Dianna Russini–Mike Vrabel story, Prime Video’s “technical difficulties” vs. NBC’s scorebug mistake during early first-round NBA playoff games, and ESPN’s massive promotion of WWE.

In addition, Curtis weighs in on whether reporters should tip NFL draft picks and the decline of the NFL draft as a major television event.

Following Curtis, Sal Licata...

Episode 605 of “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” features a conversation with ESPN NBA Insider, Shams Charania.

Charania talks about getting his career started at such a young age, getting hired by Adrian Wojnerowski at 21 and how he feels about the day-to-day grind of being an insider and breaking the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade Charania also weighs in on the recent narratives about how insiders do their job.

In addition, Charania weighs in on Doc Rivers taking a shot at him, his reporting on the Bucks and what’s going on wit...

Episode 604 of “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” features a conversation with WWE Undisputed Champion, Cody Rhodes.

Rhodes talks about his upcoming WrestleMania 42 match against Randy Orton and all of the controversy surrounding it thanks to the insertion of Pat McAfee by TKO into the storyline. Rhodes expresses his shock that McAfee made the WrestleMania billboard while also discussing whether the negative reaction to the storyline could end up being good for business.

Rhodes also talks about his love-hate relationship with hosting a podcast, possibly getting into politics once he reti...

Episode 603 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with SiriusXM and “New York Post” host, Adam Schein.

Schein talks about balancing his daily schedule of doing radio from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and then a live YouTube Show for the Post from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, Schein shares insight into his new role as CBS’ studio anchor for NFL highlights and how that job works. Other topics discussed with Shein include his daily coffee intake, Tiger Woods, whether the NBA playoffs will be Victor Wembanyama’s coming out party, w...

Episode 602 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with The Athletic’s sports media reporter, Andrew Marchand about all of the latest sports media news.

Topics discussed include: Netflix’s awful broadcast of the Yankees-Giants game on Opening Night; what Netflix gets out of a deal with Major League Baseball; NBC’s return to airing MLB games; Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill’s work on the Men’s NCAA Tournament; CBS and Turner’s very deep and impressive roster off college basketball announcers; Issues with the CBS/Turner Tournament studio show; the NF...

Episode 601 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with the new voice of Major League Baseball on NBC, Jason Benetti.

Benetti talks about a highly unusual entry on his Wikipedia page, getting a last-minute call to fill in for Brian Anderson on the NCAA Tournament last week and his extremely busy schedule these days.

In addition, Benetti talks about what he hopes Sunday Night Baseball on NBC will be, his philosophy on using analytics in a telecast, working with rotating analysts every week and much more.

Episode 600 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling.

The SNY trio talk about their popularity, working together for 20 years and their chemistry in the booth.

Cohen, Darling and Hernandez also discuss how they feel about getting shut out of calling postseason games when national broadcasts take over, being filmed during big moments for social media clips and having a new director this season. They also share their philosophy on using analytics during a broadcast, being “homers” and crit...

Episode 599 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with NBC college basketball broadcaster, John Fanta.

Fanta talks about wanting to be a versatile broadcaster who does it all, why he left Fox for NBC, using social media to help build his career, hearing from big names in sports media about his work, the difference between calling a college basketball game and NBA game and his work on NBC’s college football coverage.

In addition, Fanta talks about this year’s NCAA Tournament, breaks down certain aspects of the...

Episode 598 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with Richard Deitsch from “Sports Business Journal” and CBC on all the latest sports media news.

Among the topics discussed: NBC naming Jason Benetti as its play-by-play voice for “Sunday Night Baseball” while passing on hiring a full-time lead analyst in order to use local broadcasters each week; CBS’s decision to use Nate Burleson as a studio host for the NCAA Tournament; Why Pat McAfee’s value to ESPN continues to increase; What will Fox do for a No. 2 college football play-by-play caller with Benetti...

Episode 597 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with CNBC media and sports reporter, Alex Sherman.

Sherman talks about the big deal with Paramount buying Warner Brothers Discovery and how that will affect sports fans. Will TNT events air on CBS? Will this cause streaming prices to increase? Will this affect CBS Sports Network?

Sherman also talks about the NFL's impending major impact on all other sports regarding rights deals, the FCC looking into sports and streaming, the rise of Kalshi and Polymarket and much more.

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Episode 596 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with Puck sports media reporter, John Ourand.

Ourand explains what’s going on with the NFL television rights deals, which will take place later this year. Is there any chance CBS or Fox could lose their Sunday packages? How much more of the pie will streaming services get? Will the NFL diminish Sunday Ticket? Are we doing to see more playoff games on streaming platforms?

In addition, Ourand shares thoughts on what ESPN will do with the NFL Network, wh...

Episode 595 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with the owner and editor of Awful Announcing, Ben Koo.

Koo talks about his day-to-day responsibilities, his philosophy on what the site should post and how he feels about amplifying disingenuous people in sports media.

In addition, Koo discusses the relationship Awful Announcing has with the networks that air sports, whether he feels Awful Announcing is respected in sports media, whether he regrets anything the site he posted, the most popular post the site has put out, the most...

Episode 594 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" is an all-Traina Thoughts post-Super Bowl episode with Sal Licata from SNY and “The Sal Licata Show.”

Topics discussed include Seattle’s win over New England, Bad Bunny’s halftime show, Super Bowl betting, a horrific “bad beat” for Jimmy that ended up getting mentioned on “SportsCenter” and DraftKings parlays being a total disaster on Super Bowl Sunday.

Non-Super Bowl topics covered include good news for YouTubeTV subscribers, the rise of prediction market platforms and how Mark Wahlberg caused controversy for them last weekend, th...

Episode 593 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with NBC Sports’ host, Maria Taylor.

Taylor, who will host the network’s five-hour Super Bowl pregame show, discusses her prep for the event, why Super Bowl Sunday is in some ways an easier gig than a regular NFL Sunday, whether she has thought about how many people will be watching the pregame show and the physical and mental nature of doing a five-hour show. Taylor also talks about her role as the Lombardi Trophy presenter for the first time in her career.

Episode 592 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation about all the latest sports media news with The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis

Topics discussed include: Mike Tirico calling his first Super Bowl for NBC; Ratings for the AFC and NFL Championship games; Tony Romo backlash; Tom Brady’s improvement as an analyst; the problem with NFL rules analysts; college football’s strong ratings despite being a mess off the field; ESPN’s promotion for next year’s Super Bowl; the state of podcasts; The “Washington Post” reportedly shutting down its sports section; Radio Row and more.<...

Episode 591 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt.

Van Pelt talks about whether he will be moving into ESPN’s 5 p.m. slot that used to be occupied by “Around the Horn,” the pros and cons of that time slot and how close his former partner, Ryen Russillo, came to returning to ESPN and joining him for a new show.

In addition, Van Pelt talks about the controversy involving Jacksonville reporter, Lynn Jones, complementing Liam Coen during a press conference, going through...

Episode 590 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with NBC’s Mike Tirico.

Tirico discusses what it’s like to call a dud playoff game (Chargers-Patriots) and being given the most anticipated divisional-round game in Rams-Chargers. Tirico also takes listeners through his epic call at the end of the Ravens-Steelers Week 18 game and the reaction to his performance.

In addition, the longtime play-by-play caller talks about calling his first Super Bowl this February, what his Super Bowl Sunday will look like, with him doing Olympic hosting duties imme...

Episode 589 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with ESPN host/reporter, Laura Rutledge.

Rutledge talks about her crazy busy schedule during the football season, which includes hosting "NFL Live," "SEC Nation" and doing sideline reporting for "Monday Night Football" and how she balances it all.

In addition, Rutledge talks about going viral a couple of times for video catching sprinting across the field after doing a halftime interview to get to the "SEC Nation" set to host the halftime show and having ESPN legend Chris Berman...

Episode 588 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" is the Sixth Annual Year-End Extravaganza with Peter Schrager and Andrew Perloff.

In this episode, we each name our Sports Media Person of the Year for 2025, we talk about our favorite sports moments of the past year and riff on the top sports media stories.

Just a few of the topics discussed include J.J. Watt's strong first season in the NFL booth, the Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson saga, the effect Caitlin Clark's absence had on the WNBA, ESPN buying the NFL Network...

Episode 587 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" begins with a brief "Traina Thoughts" segment with weekly contributor, Sal Licata, before ending with a long mailbag segment.

Topics discussed during "Traina Thoughts" include some Christmas shopping stories, Sal's night at Alex Rodriguez's Christmas party, Sal getting lots of coverage for his interview with Stugotz and more.

In the mailbag segment we tackle questions regarding the futures of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt at CBS; who could replace Al Michaels on "Thursday Night Football"; favorite childhood...

Episode 587 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with the voice of "Monday Night Football," Joe Buck.

Buck talks about ESPN's end-of-season schedule, which will include two playoff games, how he handles "storylines" while calling a game and how everyone at Disney is preparing for ABC/ESPN airing next year's Super Bowl.

In addition, Buck also sheds light on the Troy Aikman-Caleb Williams dust up from earlier in the season, talks about being named the Ford C. Frick Award winner by the MLB Hall of Fame, whether he has any interest in hosting "...

Episode 586 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with WWE superstar, The Miz.

The Miz, who has a long and storied history with John Cena, talks about Cena's final match, his retirement and whether he will really disappear from the WWE as he has claimed. Miz also reveals what we might not know about Cena away from the ring and pulls back the curtain on the famous storyline where Miz and his wife, Maryse, spoofed Cena and his then-girlfriend, Nikki Bella.

In addition, The Miz also talks about his own career after being...

Episode 585 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with the CBS NFL broadcast team of Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt.

Watt talks about what it's been like going from the studio to the booth, what has been the most difficult thing about calling games and what it's been like calling so many Steelers games featuring his brother, T.J.

Eagle and Watt each reveal what has surprised them the most about the other, while Eagle also shares his thoughts on breaking in a new partner and how that has gone for him...

Episode 584 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with "College GameDay" host, Rece Davis.

Davis reminisces about being at ESPN for 30 years, his early days on ESPN2 and his time as a "SportsCenter" anchor.

In addition, Davis, who has now been the host of "GameDay" for 10 years, talks about what it was like to replace Chris Fowler, his favorite Lee Corso memory, whether he cares about "GameDay" ratings, why he stayed at ESPN instead of leaving for Fox, whether he thinks he can challenge his co-hosts and the most difficult thing about hosting "...

Episode 583 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with ESPN President, Burke Magnus.

Magnus talks about fallout from the YouTubeTV-Disney carriage dispute, whether ESPN has a public relations problem and what the new deal with YouTubeTV means for cable companies.

Burke also shares his desire to get more episodes of "Inside the NBA" on ESPN in the future and how the partnership with Turner Sports for "Inside the NBA" is going,

Other topics discussed include the possibility of Scott Van Pelt moving...

Episode 582 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features an interview with Prime Video's Al Michaels, a conversation with The Athletic's Richard Deitsch and the weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment.

Michaels, who is currently working on a year-to-year basis with Amazon, reveals that he would like to return next season to continue his broadcasting career. Michaels also discusses Prime's strong schedule this season, the work ethic of his partner, Kirk Herbstreit, having the NFL instruct him to offer an on-air correction during a recent game, working in gambling references, working on Christmas Day, his television career...

Episode 581 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with "Good Morning Football's" Kyle Brandt.

Brandt opens up the podcast venting about people sharing about their sports-viewing "set ups" and talks about what he goes through to watch games and explains why he likes his simple set up.

Then the interview transitions to sports media talk with Brandt explaining what it's like to interview the top quarterbacks from around the NFL each week, revealing how he feels about seeing his former "Good Morning Football" colleague, Peter Schrager, on...

Episode 580 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" is an all-Mailbag episode.

The show starts off with Jimmy explaining why the podcast was delayed this week and why there isn't a main guest. The "Traina Thoughts" segment featuring Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY follows the intro. Topics covered include the YouTubeTV-ESPN carriage dispute, the passing of NFL broadcaster Bob Trumpy, the Dodgers beating the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series, Sal's interview with actress Sydney Sweeney and more.

Following "Traina Thoughts," Jimmy opens up the mailbag. This...

Episode 579 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with The Ringer's Bryan Curtis.

The host of "The Press Box" podcast weighs in on all the latest sports media news. Topics discussed include: ESPN's coverage of the Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups gambling scandals; "Inside the NBA's" debut on ESPN; NBC's use of Michael Jordan as a "special contributor"; Joe Davis's performance calling the World Series, Stephen A. Smith continuing to go after LeBron James; ESPN's massive win with SEC football; USC football's lack of national appeal, Scott Van Pelt possibly moving from...

Episode 578 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with Fox's Greg Olsen.

The NFL analyst talks about what it's like to work with a different partner for a few weeks during the season, what he tries to do differently than other analysts and whether a full-time International schedule would appeal to him as a way to get a lead analyst job.

In addition, Olsen explains why he doesn't want the Tush Push banned, why he thinks we're going to see fewer and few field-goal attempts in the...

Episode 577 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with SiriusXM's Chris "Mad Dog" Russo.

The radio Hall of Famer shares his opinions on Major League Baseball's new television deals, MLB's decision to carve up their games to as many broadcast services as possible and who he would want as NBC's lead MLB voice next season. Russo also weighs in on the implementation of the ABS Challenge System for 2026.

Other topics discussed with Russo include Molly Qerim's departure from "First Take," why he isn't as excited for the...

Episode 576 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with ESPN's Ryan Ruocco.

Ruocco talks about calling the WNBA Finals, the constant off-the-court attention that the WNBA receives, controversies involving the refs and the commissioner, Caitlin Clark's impact, ratings and scheduling the Finals against NFL action.

In addition, Ruocco talks about calling less Yankees games, but more Nets games, being in the mix for the Yankees radio job after John Sterling retired, what he loves about calling NBA games for ESPN and much more.

Episode 575 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport talks about the life of an insider and whether the offseason is just as busy as the season, while also describing what his day-to-day schedule is like.

In addition, Rapoport explains where we stand on the NFL going to an 18-game schedule and a full-time international schedule, talks about his feelings regarding ESPN buying the NFL Network and the possibility of being colleagues with Adam Schefter and shares the full story of...

Episode 574 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with ESPN and Amazon Prime's Kirk Herbstreit.

Herbstreit talks about what "College GameDay" has been like without Lee Corso, the popularity of the show's field-goal contest segment, Pat McAfee volunteering Herbstreit to donate money to the contest winners without clearing it with Herbstreit first, McAfee's viral dive in a speedo on a recent "GameDay" episode and what Nick Saban brings to "GameDay."

In addition, Herbstreit breaks down his crazy schedule with "Thursday Night Football," "College GameDay" and ABC's top...

Conor Orr and Albert Breer break down what move Brian Daboll will make next with an 0-3 Giants team, if the Eagles will continue to throw the ball downfield throughout the season, the Browns defense showing how they actually are against Green Bay, Brian Callahan's rough game management with the Titans, if Carson Wentz can perform well enough during J.J. McCarthy's absence to force the Vikings to make a change at QB, and if midseason changes will be made for the winless Texans

Sponsored by: Underdog: Download the Underdog app and use code...

Episode 573 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features two interviews.

First up is ESPN's Mina Kimes, who talks about how she got her start at ESPN, transitioning into an NFL analyst, the stigma of being an NFL analyst who didn't play the game, what her typical Sunday is like, whether she'd like to be in the booth calling games one day.

Kimes also discusses auditioning for the "ManningCast," the worst thing about social media becoming a cesspool, working with Dan Orlovsky and much more.

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