1. Apologies for writing about something that happened five days ago, but I’ve been off work since last Wednesday and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write about the crimes of a broadcaster.
You may recall last week that ESPN’s Booger McFarland sparked some controversy over the Jets quarterback Zach Wilson .
“You said something about responsibility,” McFarland told him Monday night countdown colleague. “Let’s understand who this guy is before we hold him accountable. He’s a guy who grew up with a lot of money. I don’t think he should ever be held accountable. So now on the biggest stage, we want to hold this defender accountable.”
This act offended many people. Among them was Fox Sports college football analyst Brady Quinn, who unloaded on McFarland.
“It was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard on the air,” Quinn said is Choose six podcasts Last week, “and that’s saying something because Booger was working Monday Night Football He said a lot of stupid things during that time.”
DISSOLVES WELL! Talk about a low blow! While we have to give Quinn credit for not being caught, we doubt that he would have pulled off such a brutal blow if one of his colleagues at Fox had done so.
“What’s interesting is that Booger appeared on Ross Tucker’s podcast and defended himself as an expert,” Quinn added. “Well, you’re contradicting what you just said, because as an expert, you’re supposed to analyze what’s going on in the field. Last I checked, you don’t have a PhD or a doctor who understands the sociology of relationships or parenting or anything related to that, but you want to analyze it. It was a strange deal.”
Well, this is where Quinn lost me. McFarland may not like the Wilson family’s wealth of criticism at quarterback, but analysts in every sport analyze things off the field when they feel it affects a player on the field.
Have we already forgotten all the stories from earlier this year that Tom Brady’s divorce may be the cause of his game controversy? Russell Wilson’s antics off the field have been a frequent topic of discussion. Hell, some people say Jimmy Garoppo can’t be a good leader because he saw him having dinner with an adult movie star.
Aside from being terrible on the field, Wilson has had a major attitude problem this year. Even if I think McFarland’s analysis makes no sense, it’s not too much of a stretch for McFarland or anyone else to speculate as to why this happened.
But let’s not forget the most important thing here: Quinn throwing an absolute haymaker at McFarland.
2. True SI Media Podcast Listeners know that after I told Jim Nantz a few weeks ago, “The Lions are good enough to play on Thanksgiving.” If the Lions took the lead in the 4th quarter, I promised to call my name during the Buffalo-Detroit game.
Jim Nantz is a man of his word.
3. Here’s a roundup of reviews from many people who played sports over the holiday weekend.
Giants-Cowboys drew 42 million viewers on Fox over Thanksgiving, making it the most-watched regular season game in NFL history.
Bills-Lions drew 31.6 million viewers in the earlier slot, making the game the most-watched early Thanksgiving game on any network, while 26 million watched Patriots-Vikings in the nightcap.
15.7 million people watched the USA-England World Cup on Fox on Friday afternoon.
Michigan-Ohio brought Fox 17 million viewers on Saturday. It was the most-watched regular-season college football game on any network since 2011.
4. On Saturday night, my friend Diesel asked me if I saw how Boise State was doing against Utah State. I said I didn’t, but I was looking forward to seeing it on Bad Beats. As always, Scott Van Pelt and Stanford Steve did not disappoint.
5. I said podcasts before New heights, hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce, is amazing. Watch Jason totally lose by comparing who’s the most popular person on every phone.
6. The latest episode SI Media Podcast Presenting an interview with Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt.
After Joe Buck went to ESPN, Burkhardt is talking about taking over Fox’s NFL play-by-play job. He reveals how he found out about Buck’s departure and talks about the difference between the A and B teams. Burkhardt also discussed his partnership with Greg Olsen, his future partnership with Tom Brady and what Olsen told Brady when they first saw each other this season. Burkhardt fills us in on why he works in studio for MLB, how he overcame his recent travel nightmare, and more.
You can listen to or download the podcast below apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also view SI Media Podcast On YouTube.
7. DAILY REMINDER VIDEO: I don’t even know what to say about @menwiththepot’s video of a bun like you’ve never seen before.
Must watch Read previous editions of Traina Thoughts and check Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jim Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.