Monday Night Football, MLB Broadcasters and more

It’s been a while since I answered your questions via a Traina Thoughts Mailbag, so I took to Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday to ask questions. You continue to amaze me with what you ask. Anyway, here we go

I think the best NFL game every week, from a broadcast standpoint, is that Monday night football. I really enjoy Jim Nantz/Tony Romo (CBS), Kevin Burkhardt/Tom Brady (Fox), and Al Michaels/Kirk Herbstreit (Amazon), but Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are a level above them. Buck exudes a big-game vibe and is as good a person as any in sports. Besides being excellent at Xs and Os and giving game explanations, Aikman is virtually the only analyst who examines players and referees.

I only have two beefs with ESPN’s production of Monday night football. I hate the scoring bug at the bottom. Too big and all the green sometimes looks yellow and you think there is a flag at stake.

And that ridiculous “Go or Punt” graphic they use on fourth down plays is completely useless.

Current announcers: Don Orsillo and Ron Darling

MLB announcers of all time: Joe Buck and Ken the Hawk Harrelson. He always destroyed me.

Any announcers: I’d love to hear Kevin Harlan call a baseball game with Chris Mad Dog Russo and Charles Barkley as analysts.

Here’s what to keep in mind about the two Netflix games on Christmas Day: They’re produced by CBS.

In May, NFL VP of Broadcast Planning Mike North also told me during his appearance on the SI Media Podcastthat Netflix probably wouldn’t use traditional booths and it would be a mix and match thing.

So I don’t buy that report on Netflix calling for Burkhardt and Brady. I would expect mostly, but not all, CBS talent on those broadcasts.

As for your idea, I think it’s way too gimmicky. Netflix wants to show the NFL that it can be a legitimate player as a potential broadcast partner. Filling stalls with siblings or father/sons would not achieve that.

I’m old fashioned. I liked it when there were four divisions and the two division winners in each league made the play-offs. But that would never work today because the MLB needs more rounds to make more money on TV, which means a million teams make the playoffs. But the trade-off is that the regular season has absolutely no excitement whatsoever until perhaps the last week of the season.

You have to give MLB a break on this one. When you have to broadcast four games in one day, there is no easy solution.

When MLB was going to air a playoff game at 11pm ET, people got pissed. When they air a game at 2:30 PM ET, people get pissed. MLB can’t win here unless they want to pit the games head-to-head and air two games at 4:00 PM ET and two games at 8:00 PM ET.

I think since a lot of people are working remotely now, post-COVID and people have the ability to stream everything, the 2:30 PM ET start time wouldn’t be an issue for as many people as it has been in the past. Personally, I loved the format this year, but I work from home so maybe that’s why.

There is no one reason why MLBs are declining in popularity when it comes to TV ratings and buzz. There are a lot of reasons. The competition is brutal. You can basically access any game you want, at any time. We also live in a time where attention spans are limited, so a 3.5 hour game with a lot of downtime is a tough sell. You are also right about analyzes destroying the fun of the sport. The sport has no idea how to market itself and its players. The players also don’t seem to want to be marketed to, unlike NBA players. The sport has also become localized. Teams in major markets that spend money enjoy great popularity. Teams in small markets that don’t spend money have eroded their own fan bases.

I haven’t heard much Joe Tessitore calling Monday evening Raw as its start coincided with the start of Monday night football. But from the clips I’ve heard, he certainly has the voice and energy level for the job.

I went from Hot Clicks to sports media because I foolishly left SI for Fox Sports for a short period of time. When I returned to SI, Richard Deitsch, who covered the media for us, left The Athletics and then I was asked to focus more on sports media because that’s what I’d always had my say in Hot Clicks.

Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura were great. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan were even better. But Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were the GOATS. Just listen to the magic in this clip.

Wow. I was stunned by the amount Good morning football questions I received. I don’t think the NFL realized how much people loved that show when it decided to mess with it.

The NFL should have left the show alone. I’m still getting used to the new format, new location and new additions, but I enjoy listening to what Kyle Brandt and Peter Schrager have to say about the NFL every morning. I find it refreshing that Brandt hasn’t played in the NFL. Not every NFL talking head has to be a former player. He knows the competition and the sport as well as anyone, but still has the fan element in him. And no one covering the NFL has more connections and resources than Schrager, so his insight is very valuable. I miss Jason McCourty on the show.

The dinner, the boyfriend, the competition and the opposite. No episode made me laugh more from start to finish than The Dinner Party. It’s perfection all the way.

Wake up. Grab my phone. Check out the scores from the 10:30 pm college football games from the night before to see which bets I lost. Take a shower. Put on CBS That other pregame show while getting dressed and doing household things before getting ready to go out before the games start. It’s the one pregame show on Sunday that’s unlike any other. It’s light and fun. Adam Schein is a wonderful host. Kyle Long, Amy Trask and Brock Vereen are also excellent.

Then I usually have some breakfast and study the lines and check the injuries. Then I go to my parents and take care of everything they need so that they don’t bother me during the games. This may include going to the grocery store for them, solving their wide variety of electronic problems, returning items, and other nonsense.

Then I try to get home no later than 12:30 so that I can place my bets and set up the games on all my screens the way I want them. Then I sit on my fat behind from 1 p.m. to midnight and watch all the matches.

I also received questions from some of my Instagram followers.

Favorite betting angle in any sport? @riceownz2

If I had an angle that worked, I wouldn’t be writing this mailbag. I would enjoy my money.

We all know your favorite show (Sopranos), but favorite movie? You never discuss your favorite movies. @neil.grewal1

I’m not a big movie guy. I think I’ve been to the movies once since COVID, and it was because I was invited to a screening Air (which was FANTASTIC). I don’t like science fiction movies (never seen them Star Wars) or animation or Disney movies or war movies or movies where cars explode and people shoot at each other and bombs go off.

Give me a good, realistic story with great characters and excellent dialogue. Or a comedy.

My list would be very boring for you. My favorite movie is Good guys (yes, I know this is against the clause about people shooting each other, but for mafia films I refrain from doing so). I love Shawshank redemption. I love Goodwill hunting. I love Rain man.

Will you be betting on the baseball postseason and/or do you have any predictions? @amyroanne

I’m definitely going to bet on the MLB postseason. I like to gamble on baseball. I’ll be coming up on a 31 day on Tuesday (Tigers = winner; Orioles -1.5 runs = loser; Mets = winner; Padres -1.5 = winner).

At the bottom of the 9th you will close. What is your strike song. @dielon1217

No problem. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s theme song. Nothing moves a crowd like the sound of breaking glass.

Jimmy, why don’t you cover MMA at all? Lost to big personalities in MMA media. @Ivryan_99

It would be impossible for me to have less interest in MMA. I don’t feel like watching people beat each other to a pulp. No. To steal a line from the great Chris Mad Dog Russo: If an MMA fight was happening in my backyard, I’d draw the blinds.