1. Fox announced this morning that Tom Brady will become its principal NFL analyst once he actually retires from the game. The great thing about this column called Traina Thoughts is that I can just download all my thoughts, and I have many, about this big news in the sports media. I will be a pro and save my victory lap for the end.
– My first thought when I heard the news was: Clearly, the theory that Fox let Troy Aikman go to ESPN so he could save money on his salary is totally false. Brady Fox’s salary hasn’t leaked yet (I’m sure Andrew Marchand will get it sooner rather than later), but you can rest assured it’s huge.
UPDATE: Just like I said, Marchand has it and reported it on Tuesday afternoon.
– So Fox let Aikman go to ESPN so he could go after Brady? According to Sports business newspapers John Ourand, here’s how it turned out. Was Fox angry that Aikman’s representatives were in talks with Amazon? No one would ever admit it, but she sure sounds like that.
– The biggest winner here, of course, is Fox. He will have the greatest quarterback of all time calling him his games. What may be even more important to Fox is that there will be someone on the broadcasts who is just as much a celebrity as he is a football player. Tom Brady attracts a lot of fringe fans and even people who don’t care about football. Fox said in his statement today that not only will Brady be calling games for the network, but he will be “an ambassador for Fox”.
– For months, I have said over and over on the Multimedia podcast YES that it made no sense that Fox would let Buck and Aikman leave after they had been with Fox for so long and were considered by many people to be the best booth in the game. Something seemed turned off about Fox letting both men leave Monday night of football. Even Aikman said he didn’t know why it happened. Now it makes sense.
– The other big winner is Kevin Burkhardt. Just a few months ago, Burkhardt was Fox’s # 2 for play-by-play calls. But Fox left Joe Buck from his contract a year earlier so he could join Aikman at ESPN and Burkhardt was elevated to job number 1. And now he’ll eventually call those games with Tom Brady.
– On the other hand, Greg Olsen, who was part of Fox’s # 2 last season, is now stuck in that role as long as Brady wants to keep calling games for the network as # 1 analyst.
– Have an athlete pass directly from the playing field to stand n. 1 of a network was a mixed bag. It worked importantly for Tony Romo and CBS. It was a disaster for ESPN and Jason Witten. It was tough for Drew Brees and NBC. But personally, I don’t see how Brady is anything but a huge success in this role. I’ve written it a million times and I repeat it: since Brady left New England and Bill Belichick, he has shown us that he has a lot of personality. He is funny, charming and obviously knows football like anyone else. His appearance last season on ManningCast was excellent. I just don’t see Brady fail in the role.
– Last but not least: if you’ve listened to the Multimedia podcast YES or read Traina Thoughts on a regular basis, you know I’ve been pushing Brady’s theory to the booth ever since he feigned retirement.
I predicted it in January with Joe Buck, who mocked me:
I wrote about it on February 3rd.
My point in making the victory lap? I hope it makes you sign up and listen to the Multimedia podcast YES.
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2. As previously mentioned, Joe Buck is now on ESPN. He will be working on his first assignment for the network next weekend when he will host a version of the ManningCast for the PGA championship. Buck will be joined by Michael Collins for the event and they will be joined by the following people: Aikman, Josh Allen, Charles Barkley, Doris Burke, Fred Couples, Jon Hamm, Peyton and Eli Manning.
The telecast will air for four hours a day on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN +.
3. I have no hard evidence, but I’d bet a lot of money on Jerry West’s lawsuit against HBO Winning time gave the show much-needed publicity and got many people to check it out.
through Variety: Winning timeSunday’s season finale attracted 1.6 million viewers. It’s up 73% from the first episode and 31% from the show’s season average.
4. The 2022 NFL schedule continues to leak. CBS announced today that it will air Broncos at Rams at 4:30 PM ET on Christmas Day.
5. Inside the NBA‘s (and recent Multimedia podcast YES guest) Kenny Smith spoke with Chris Paul’s mom yesterday and shared the bad details about what happened between her and the Mavericks fan during Sunday’s game.
6. This week Sports illustrated media podcasts features a conversation with Katie Nolan, who is part of the MLB coverage on Apple TV +.
Nolan discusses how he landed the job with Apple, what Apple is trying to achieve with its broadcasts, realizing that traditional MLB fans may not get the televised broadcast, how he prepares for each game, and the weather he’s in. remained silent for several innings after reading the backlash on social media.
Nolan also talks about her time at ESPN, what she enjoyed working there, whether she thought ESPN knew how to use it, and what she learned about surfing the sports media industry.
The podcast closes with our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment featuring Sal Licata of WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York. This week, Jimmy and Sal recently read Multimedia podcast YES Apple reviews, discuss Kevin Harlan getting the best gig at Turner Sports, the NFL offering a game exclusively at ESPN + and more
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
7. CASUAL VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 67th birthday to the legendary Chris Berman.
Be sure to update us on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check the Sports illustrated media podcasts hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy Twitter, Instagram And Tic knock.