Stephen A. Smith Hilariously Celebrates NHL’s Return to ESPN: TRAINA THOUGHTS

1. “I DON’T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT HOCKEY!”

That was Stephen A. Smith yesterday being Stephen A. Smith before revealing his list of the top five things he knows about hockey in a very energetic bit.

With the NHL and ESPN becoming partners once again earlier this week, Smith decided to get in the spirit of things (read: do some promotion for the company) by doing something he doesn’t normally do: talk hockey.

Of course, the list barely had anything to do with hockey and Smith will probably never mention the NHL again, but the segment was amusing nonetheless.

2. Michigan State's men's basketball team will now be known throughout its arena as "MSU Spartans Presented by Rocket Mortgage."

The school's director of athletics released a statement saying, "Michigan State Athletics couldn't compete at the highest levels without the support of our corporate partners like Rocket Mortgage. We are appreciative of Rocket's continued commitment to the Spartans and their unwavering support of our programs."

Is there anything dirtier and grosser than college athletics?

3. Gronk got in on the TikTok trend of calling someone on FaceTime and then saying you can't talk and acting like they called you. What made Gronk's effort special is that his victim was Tom Brady.

4. As always, God bless Bill Walton.

5. Obviously, this is a very nice job by Bill Belichick. But on a totally superficial note, this actually isn't a bad look for the Patriots coach.

6. This week's episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features two guests.

First up is ESPN play-by-play man Ryan Ruocco, who was calling the Nuggets-Mavericks game on March 11, 2020, when the NBA announced that the season would be suspended because of COVID-19. Ruocco talks about what that experience was like, how his mindset about COVID-19 changed from that night until now, whether he'd be comfortable calling games in full arenas, whether he ever got used to calling games from home and much more.

Following Ruocco, Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent, joins the podcast to discuss how the media has covered COVID-19, what the media has done well and not so well, what the media's responsibilities are in reporting about COVID-19 vaccines, did he ever expect a pandemic to become so political, what it's like to cover media while working for a media company, the cable news wars and much more.

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

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM OF THE DAY: Thank you to the TikToker who made this video.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram