Dan Orlovsky Has Had Enough of Talking About the Jets
1. The over-the-top coverage of the Jets and Aaron Rodgers has broken ESPN's Dan Orlovsky.
While Rodgers’s move from Green Bay to New York is the top story line of the 2023 NFL season, you would think 31 other teams don’t exist based on how the media across the board has reacted to Gang Green’s addition of the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Rodgers was traded from the Packers to the Jets in late April, and, since then, the media has gone on a full-blown assault of “Aaron Rogers is on the Jets now. Will New York get to the Super Bowl?” speculation.
And Orlovsky has had enough.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, Orlovsky was asked what he would be talking about on NFL Live later that afternoon. He started his answer, though, by mocking the discussions he had had on ESPN’s morning shows earlier that day.
“Yo, we talked about the Jets and the Cowboys for the three-millionth time in a row,” said an exasperated Orlovsky.
The Cowboys are always going to get a ton of coverage. They’re called “America's Team” for a reason, and, like Cris Collinsworth recently told Dan Patrick, NBC would air Dallas games 17 weeks in a row if the NFL would allow it because the team is a ratings juggernaut.
But the Jets talk has centered on one topic: Aaron Rodgers. And it's been incessant.
Orlovsky’s line was more humorous than angry, but the point was made. And Orlovsky deserves credit for publicly acknowledging the ridiculous coverage of the Jets this offseason.
2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped this morning. It features two interviews.
First up is ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy. McElroy talks about getting promoted to ESPN’s No. 2 crew, where he will work with Sean McDonough and call a national championship playoff game. McElroy also discusses working with Joe Tessitore and Dave Pasch in past years, why he has to be overprepared to call a game and how long it took him to get comfortable in the booth. McElroy, who played at Alabama, also talks about what makes Nick Saban tick, how the Crimson Tide will do this season, which team could surprise some people in 2023 and which college football quarterback is flying under the radar. McElroy closes out his appearance on the podcast with a hilarious Tim Tebow story.
Following McElroy, comedian Jared Freid, who has a Netflix special out, 37 & Single, joins the podcast. Freid talks about the business of comedy, how he puts together a special, using his parents for material, his favorite comedians, whether Bill Belichick is funny, what’s funny about college football and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
3. Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team set the record for largest crowd to witness a women's sporting event Wednesday night when 92,003 fans filled Memorial Stadium to watch the team beat Omaha. And the visual of the crowd was spectacular, as was Nebraska’s walkout, complete with the old Chicago Bulls theme song.
4. There are not many people in sports more likable than Andy Reid, and here’s another reason: The guy is open to using plays given to him from janitors.
5. If this umpire in Wednesday’s Brewers-Cubs game wanted to be a hero to those of us in the content game, he would’ve called this a strike.
6. Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez hooked up his entire team with outfits from Adidas, including manager Scott Servais, who looked like he came straight from an old-school Run DMC video.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Billy Joel often has surprise guests at his Madison Square Garden residency shows. The range of guests is wide. I've been there for the highs of Paul McCartney and the lows of Kevin James. Joel’s guest on Tuesday was actor Kevin Bacon, who did a hell of a job on “The Entertainer.”
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
