Traina Thoughts: Is The End Near For ESPN's "The Six?"
1. This is 100 percent pure speculation, but if I were a betting man, I'd say The Six, hosted by Jemele Hill and Michael Smith, will be gone from ESPN before the end of the year.
Author James Andrew Miller, who wrote the book on ESPN -- literally -- is as plugged into the network as anyone. (He had Katie Nolan going to the World Wide Leader long before anyone else.) After Jemele Hill's two-week suspension was announced Monday, Miller sent this tweet.
I could be reading too much into it, but that tweet tells me the end is near for The Six. And at this point, Hill may want that as much as ESPN.
First things first, despite what the lunatic in charge of our country tweets, one host who appears for an hour a day is not responsible for an entire network's ratings tanking. Yes, the ratings for The Six are down from that time slot last year when ESPN aired SportsCenter featuring Lindsay Czarniak. But let's put things in perspective and offer some context. Via Awful Announcing, in September, The Six was down 20 percent compared to the same week one year ago. Pardon The Interruption, which airs right before The Six, was down 17 percent. So ESPN's ratings slump is not all because of one show or one host. This holds true for any network. It's basic common sense, which I know is shunned in the Trump Era.
But at this point, is there really anything for ESPN or Hill and Smith to gain by continuing on with the show? It's clear Hill has no interest in "sticking to sports" and doesn't want to be muzzled when it comes to speaking out about what's going on in the country. ESPN obviously doesn't want the repeated headache of having to deal with the fallout from Hill's political opinions. It's clear many people -- fans, media members, elected officials -- have made Hill a target. Every single word she says or tweets will be dissected and twisted and magnified. Just like Miller said, is this (at least partially) being done because Hill is now attached to the SportsCenter brand? It would be tough to argue otherwise.
The other issue for ESPN is that the Hill situation is becoming a bigger in-house problem.
The ironic thing is that Trump's attacks on Hill have made her a bigger hero to those who supported her from the first "white supremacist" dust up. If the end of The Six is indeed sooner than later, Hill will come out of it with many offers.
2. I usually take the stance that betting does pay, but here's a case in which it totally does not. Husband and wife make a bet on the Cowboys-Packers game. Winner gets to burn the opposing team's jersey. The only problem was that the couple got drunk and the wife (a Packers fan) set her husban's Cowboys jersey on fire -- WHILE HE WAS STILL WEARING IT!!!
3. Dirk Nowitzki: A legend on the court and on Twitter.
4. Here is the entire Adrian Peterson-New Orleans Saints era.
5. Astros outfielder Josh Reddick seemed happy about his team beating the Red Sox to move on to the ALCS.
6. Russell Wilson wore a horrible fake mustache for this ad, but no one seemed to notice.
7. RANDOM WRESTLING VIDEO OF THE DAY: The Shield reunited on Monday Night Raw last night and the crowd was lit.
The best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts. And check Jimmy Traina's weekly podcast, "Off The Board," on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher.
BONUS ITEM: I like over 8 in the Nationals-Cubs game today.
