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NFL Schedule Release: Love It? Hate it? Both?

Also in Traina Thoughts: A new ‘SI Media Podcast,’ Draymond Green dances during blowout, a memorable day for George Constanza and more.

Jimmy Traina

1. Only the NFL. Only the NFL, which has a grip on this country like nothing else, can make a complete spectacle over releasing the schedule of games for the upcoming season.

Each year, the hype around the schedule release gets bigger and bigger. Even though most of the schedule gets released on Twitter throughout the day, there will still be a two-hour show that airs Thursday night on the NFL Network and be simulcast on FS1 while ESPN2 will also air its own two-hour show.

The hype around releasing the schedule is perfect Twitter fodder. Most people mock it as nonsense, a few will admit they love it, while others (and this is the category that I fit into) love it and hate it at the same time.

One one hand, it’s embarrassing to be such a puppet for the NFL. On the other hand, I NEED to know those Thanksgiving games.

The other thing that’s true is that most NFL fans love to share their thoughts and opinions on schedule release day:

2. With Tom Brady and Fox Sports announcing a massive deal on Tuesday, there was no one better to have on this week's SI Media Podcast than Andrew Marchand.

Does Marchand stand by his report that the deal is for 10 years and $375 million? Did Fox end up with Tom Brady because the network was mad at Troy Aikman? Why Brady going into broadcasting shouldn’t have surprised people. Who will work with Kevin Burkhardt on Fox's No. 1 team until Brady retires? 

In addition to the big Brady story, we also discussed F1's strong ratings, the call of the Kentucky Derby shocker, how the USFL is doing and much more.

Following the conversation with Marchand, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY in New York joins me for our weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment. This week’s topics include the stupidity of baseball's unwritten rules, the success of HBO's Winning Time, the NFL’s Week 2 Monday night doubleheader and more

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

3. The Warriors got completely blown out of FedEx Forum last night, 134–95, and at one point were down by 52 against the Grizzlies. The game was so out of control that Golden State forward Draymond Green actually danced and celebrated with the home crowed.

4. Jrue Holiday had a variety of late-game heroics last night in leading the Bucks to a win against the Celtics. He had a clutch three-pointer, a huge block and a game-ending steal. TNT's Brian Anderson was outstanding on each of these calls.

5. Angels pitcher Noah Syndergaard celebrated Reid Detmers’s no-hitter on Tuesday by taking to Instagram and pointing out that Detmers threw a "real no-hitter." Given the Mets recently threw a combined no-hitter and Syndergaard used to play for the Mets, many people took this as a shot. Syndergaard said it wasn't. Hmmm ...

6. Former Celtic Tacko Fall is 7’6”. He snagged a front row seat to Wednesday's Bucks-Celtics game. This was a problem for the woman sitting behind him. But things worked out in the end as you'll see below.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date, May 12, in 1994, George Costanza experienced shrinkage.

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 Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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