Traina Thoughts: LeBron James Clears Up Controversial Postgame Question About Erin Popovich Passing Away
1. You've probably seen or at least heard about LeBron James's postgame interview last night in which TNT reporter Allie LaForce asked him for his thoughts on the passing of Gregg Popovich's wife, Erin. Many people, myself included, saw the interview and instantly thought James was just finding out about the tragic news in that moment.
However, James cleared up the controversy after the game, revealing that LaForce informed him of Erin Popovich's death right before they started the interview.
LeBron handled the situation—during the live interview and following the live interview—as well as anyone possibly could.
Obviously it appeared that he was just finding out the news live on the air, but that's still no excuse for jumping the gun and assuming that was the case. TNT and LaForce should've been given the benefit of the doubt in that situation until we got confirmation on exactly what happened, so I apologize to TNT and LaForce.
On a side note, before the clarification, when it was assumed LaForce surprised James with the question, so many people on Twitter—of course—were demanding she be fired. Can we stop with that please? Even if she had broken the news to LeBron live on the air, she still shouldn't be fired. If someone is good at their job and they make one mistake, you don't have to call for their firing. It's without a doubt one of the worst things about Twitter. People have to be allowed to make mistakes. That's life.
2. A brand new episode of the SI MEDIA PODCAST features New York Post media reporter Andrew Marchand and NFL Network host Rich Eisen.
Marchand weighs in on the latest sports media news, including Brett Favre’s tryout for Monday Night Football, the rough ratings start for ESPN’s Get Up, A-Rod’s performance in the booth, the Michael Kay Show beating WFAN in the ratings and what's up with Mike Francesca.
Eisen defends the NFL Network’s TWO-hour schedule release show airing tonight, reveals the most challenging aspect of hosting the NFL Draft, passionately voices his frustration with NFL writers who tip draft picks on Twitter, talks about this year’s draft being simulcast on FOX and much more. You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes.
3. Since I'm old, this is wonderful news via the NFL because it means I can get an extra 10-15 minutes of sleep each night.
4. Classic Kevin Harlan last night on this wild Chris Paul shot.
5. We've all seen a million clips where teammates try to mess with one of their boys while he's being interviewed. It's kind of played out at this point, but the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team deserves credit for creativity with this one.
6. The Twins and Indians played 16 innings last night, which prompted one Cleveland fan to tell one hell of a tale on the team's Reddit page.
7. More players need to take a cue from Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson and take care of the fans in the upper deck.
8. RANDOM THE OFFICE VIDEO OF THE DAY: "I like waking up to the smell of bacon. Sue me."
Traina Thoughts is 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 right here.And make sure to listen to and subscribe to the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina.
IN CLOSING: You may mock it, but deep down, you know you secretly love NFL Schedule Release Day.
