Getty Images
Traina Thoughts: Nine Sports Media Things We're Looking Forward To When Football Starts
1. Football is here. We have a full slate of college games on Saturday and the NFL begins on Thursday with the Packers and Bears.
In honor of the start of the 2019 NFL and College Football seasons, Traina Thoughts is closing out the summer on this Labor Day weekend by giving you a list of the football-related sports media things we can't wait to see. If you're a loyal Traina Thoughts reader, you know how we feel about lists and why we do lists, so this seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the return of football.
So, without further ado, here are nine things we looking forward to seeing on TV over the next several months:
• Al Michaels sneaky gambling references: It appears the networks are still going to keep Roger Goodell and the NFL happy by not covering betting on their pregame shows or during games, but Al don't care. He's gonna get in his backhanded refernces to the over/under and line no matter what.
• Good Morning Football: The cast of Kay Adams, Nate Burleson, Peter Schrager and Kyle Brandt somehow manage to make the show entertaining in the offseason, but the NFL Network's foursome really shines when the games are here and we get regular features such as Burleson's "Toe Drag Swag" and Brandt's "Angry Runs."
• The Cris Collinsworth Slide: This became a phenomenon last year. Forget Carrie Underwood. The only thing people were waiting all day for was to see Cris slide his body next to Al. And, yes, the video below is 100% fake, but it's still totally awesome.
• Scott Van Pelt's Bad Beats: If you bet on football, this Tuesday night SportsCenter segment is the single best thing best piece of weekly content in all of sports media outside of the SI Media Podcast.
• Lee Corso puts on the mascot head: The phrase "a tradition like no one other" is so cliche, but this is truly a tradition like no other. The 84-year-old Corso caps off each edition of College GameDay by making his pick for the week's big game by donning a ridiculous mascot head and it's still as amusing as ever.
• Tony Romo's predictions: Romo pulled back on the predictions during the regular season last year, but went nuts in the epic Pats-Chiefs AFC title game. It'll be interesting to see what kind of balance he strikes this season.
• Bill Belichick press conferences: Whether you love or hate Belichick, his interactions with the media are always notable despite the fact that he says nothing. Just look at this performance.
• Joe Buck's promos for SmackDown Live: You can take it to the bank that FOX's Thursday Night Football games are going to be filled with promos for the WWE's SmackDown show, which will air on the network on Friday nights. Buck has a great sense of humor, so the guess here is that he tries to have as much fun with these spots as possible.
• Red Zone: I have never watched the Red Zone channel. I was always a Game Mix channel guy. But I got rid of DirecTV earlier this year after being a 20-year customer (hear all about it here) and I am now forced to become a Red Zone guy. I know every football swears by it, so I'm looking forward to seeing if it will live up to the hype.
2. The Bears' kicking problems are well known, but it's worse than you ever thought. Just look at this kick from Eddy Pineiro.
3. If you bet Texas A&M -34 against Texas State last night, here's why you couldn't cash your ticket.
4. Moorehead State's turnover walking cane is approximately a billion times more amusing than any Miami turnover chain, jewelry or whatever.
5.Here's where we stand with the SI Media Podcast. If you haven't listend to Chris Fowler's appearance from last week, you should. He was outstanding talking about his play-by-play gigs for tennis and college football. He also reminisced about his days on College GameDay and working with Lee Corso.
I took this week off, but my SI.com colleague, Jacob Feldman, filled in for me and hosted a roundtable discussion with Peter King, Bob Ley, Ann Killion and Dave Simms, who were together at the National Sports Media Awards ceremony.
Next week's podcast, which will come out Tuesday morning, features big interviews with the NFL Network's Rich Eisen and SiriusXM's Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, who were both kind enough to come in studio.
So, if you are not an SI Media Podcast subscriber, become one now. It helps tremendously if you subscribe, plus you will get each podcast delivered right to your device each week.
You can subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and Google Play.
6. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: The single-greatest standup special ever celebrates an anniversary today.
Eddie Murphy's shoe bit was just one highlight of the set.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: I will have a new Traina Thoughts for you on Monday, so if you have a few spare minutes on Labor Day, please check out the column. Enjoy the weekend and good luck with your college football wagers.
