The Best, Worst and Most Memorable in Sports Media of 2019: TRAINA THOUGHTS

1. This is the last edition of Traina Thoughts for 2019. I can't thank you all enough for the continued support and readership. I've been doing this a long time for SI and the fact that so many of you still take a few minutes out of your days to read my ramblings means more than I can ever properly explain

With the year coming to a close, we've already handed out plenty of awards this week.

In case you missed it, we had the "2019 Sports Media Awards," which features 19 categories including Broadcast Team of the Year, Best Single Game Performance, Fastest Riser, Best Interview, Biggest Disappointment and Best Podcast.

We also handed out awards for some of the more offbeat, bizarre and ridiculous categories, including Biggest Evisceration, Worst Hot Take, Best and Worst Use of Social Media and much more.

Despite already handing out so many awards, a lot were left on the cutting room floor or didn't really fit into either piece. Therefore, I'm going to feature the "best of the rest" when it comes to 2019 SI Media Awards in today's Traina Thoughts. 

These are a mix of serious and not-so-serious and will highlight things that stood out to me in 2019. 

So without further ado, here are even more year-end media awards.

SINGLE GREATEST BROADCAST OF THE ENTIRE YEAR AND POSSIBLY DECADE: On Aug. 16, Bill Walton joined White Sox play-by-play man Jason Benetti to call Chicago's game against the Angels. The results were pure magic.

BIGGEST TROOPER OF THE YEAR: Speaking of Bill Walton, his ESPN play-by-play man Dave Pasch deserves recognition for ... having to work with Bill Walton during the college basketball season. It's not easy to be a play-by-play man and have no clue where your analyst is going to go. Ever.

MOST RISQUE POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Jimmy G dropping a "Feels great, baby," on Erin Andrews was .... something else.

BEST NEW PODCAST: Full disclosure: I'm biased when it comes to Chris Long. I was his editor when he wrote Game of Thrones recaps for SI.com this year and he also filled in on Traina Thoughts one day this year. Having said that, if dry, subtle humor is your thing, few do it as well as Long on his Green Light Podcast. He also has hot takes on just about every topic and shares his expert insight on NFL news.

HATERS GONNA HATE—NO MATTER WHAT: FOX lead play-by-play Joe Buck got absolutely destroyed by viewers on Twitter during Game 4 of the ALCS between the Astros and Yankees. There was only one problem. Buck was in Denver that night calling a Broncos-Chiefs game.

BEST TWEET: FOX's Troy Aikman did not hold back when FS1's Doug Gottlieb dropped one of the all-time worst takes in sports history after Andrew Luck announced his retirement, and it was glorious.

WILDEST REASON FOR RESIGNING: Magic Johnson just wanted to tweet. After he stepped down as Lakers GM, he said, “The fines and the tampering and the this and the that, I can’t help young men who want me to help them, or I can’t tweet out. Like Russell Westbrook, that was a great feat the other day. I couldn’t even tweet it out to say, ‘Hey, congratulations.’ If I had did that, everyone would have said, ‘He’s tampering.’ I don’t like that. I like to be free.”

MOST SURREAL REVELATION: Golfer Brooks Koepka told us this year that he's never ever had a hot beverage in his life.

BEST RECURRING SEGMENT: Scott Van Pelt's "Bad Beats." The college football week does not officially come to a close until Val Pelt details the most devastating losses bettors suffered each Saturday.

BEST NEW RECURRING SEGMENT: Good Morning Football's "Wall Streeters." When Kyle Brandt and Peter Schrager hit the streets of Manhattan as stereotypical Wall Street bros who give their "buy or sell" advice, pandemonium ensues and Brandt nearly has a heart attack.

2. For a more in-depth look at the 2019 year in sports media, listen to this week's SI Media Podcast, which features a roundtable discussion between John Ourand from Sports Business Journal, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post and myself.

We discussed the biggest sports media stories of the year including the NFL ratings surge, the NBA ratings dip, the streaming explosion, as well as personalities who had strong years. We also offered sports media predictions for 2020.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.

3. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: It's almost here. Eddie Murphy returns to Saturday Night Live this week for the first time since 1984. We end our week of remembering some of his most memorable skits with the Best of Eddie Murphy.

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 Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.