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We Tip Our Cap to These Play-By-Play Performances

Wednesday saw Joe Buck, Kevin Harlan and Don Orsillo put on broadcasting clinics.
Jimmy Traina|
Joe Buck returned to baseball play-by-play duties for one night on Wednesday.
Joe Buck returned to baseball play-by-play duties for one night on Wednesday. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

1. “Nobody watches games for the announcers.”

As someone who comments on sports media, I hear that line all the time. My reply is always the same. I may not watch a game for the announcers, but the announcers can absolutely enhance my enjoyment of a game.

Wednesday night was great proof of this.

Joe Buck called last night’s Mets-Dodgers game for ESPN. To use an analogy from the sport, Buck has not lost his fastball when it comes to baseball play-by-play. He last called a baseball game on Opening Day of 2025. His smoothness is uncanny. His voice has a big-game feel. And every call is always on point.

While Buck was working the Mets-Dodgers game, Don Orsillo had the local broadcast for the Mariners-Padres game. San Diego scored five runs in the bottom of ninth to erase a 6–2 deficit and win 7–6. Orsillo’s call on the game-winning hit was beyond electric.

And his work for that entire inning was sensational.

On the NBA side, fans were blessed that the great Kevin Harlan was behind the microphone for Stephen Curry’s turn-back-the-clock game in the Warriors’ play-in win against the Clippers on Prime Video. It doesn’t get any better than these calls.

2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this morning. This week’s guest is ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania.

Charania talks about getting his start in sports media at just 17 years old, getting hired by Adrian Wojnarowski at 21 and how he feels about the day-to-day grind of being an insider. He also weighs in on the recent narratives about reporters in the wake of Dianna Russini’s resignation.

In addition, Charania takes us through what it was like to break the Anthony Davis–Luka Dončić trade. He also weighs in on LeBron James’s future, the NBA’s tanking issue and gambling.

Charania also reacts to getting called out by Doc Rivers over his reporting, which was clearly accurate based on Milwaukee’s Myles Turner confirming what Charania wrote.

Following Charania, Sal Licata from SNY TV joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include Russini’s resignation from The Athletic, the putrid starts by the Mets and Yankees, Netflix’s upcoming documentary on Hulk Hogan, the season finale of DTF St. Louis and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

3. Front Office Sports reports that YouTube is expected to land a five-game package of NFL games this season. Details are still unknown on when these games would air and who would call the games. The good news, though, is YouTube is free.

4. NBC’s return to airing the NBA playoffs begins Sunday. Noah Eagle and Grant Hill will call the Pistons game at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Mike Tirico and Reggie Miller will work the Blazers-Spurs game. The duo will also call Game 2 of that series on Tuesday, which tells you NBC is all in on Wemby.

One other note on NBC’s NBA coverage: MLB play-by-play voice Jason Benneti will call Tuesday’s Sixers-Celtics game with Robbie Hummel, who was a standout star during the NCAA tournament.

5. I will be VERY curious to see how the media, which has always been in Tiger’s back pocket, cover this story. My guess is that you will see hardly any coverage.

6. With WrestleMania 42 taking place this weekend, WWE undisputed champion Cody Rhodes joined me for a bonus episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina.

Rhodes talks about his WrestleMania match on Saturday against Randy Orton and all of the controversy surrounding it, thanks WWE parent company TKO inserting Pat McAfee into the storyline.

Rhodes also talks about his love-hate relationship with hosting a podcast, possibly getting into politics once he retires from wrestling, what it’s like to scroll through Instagram Reels and see videos of himself and his father, Dusty Rhodes, what old-school wrestling thing he’d like to see come back today, how he goes into shutdown mode during WrestleMania week, his daily coffee intake (which is shocking), how much his suits cost, warming up to a heel turn and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Young people will never understand how good the ’80s were.

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 X and Instagram.

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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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