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Traina Thoughts Mailbag: NFL Broadcasting Questions, Knicks Fever and More

How should CBS fill a current opening and how should Prime Video fill an eventual one?
Jimmy Traina|
Kevin Harlan was one of Prime Video’s first hires when they acquired the NBA.
Kevin Harlan was one of Prime Video’s first hires when they acquired the NBA. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Welcome to another Traina Thoughts mailbag. Thanks as always for the questions. Let’s get right into it.

I’ve said this before, but I’d really like to see Kevin Harlan get a national gig. He currently sits behind Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle on CBS’s roster of NFL play-by-play folks. Harlan already works for Prime Video calling NBA games, so you would think Amazon has a special appreciation for his work. Harlan calling a weekly nationally televised game would be a win for Prime Video, a win for the NFL and, most importantly, a win for fans.

With Jason McCourty signing an exclusive deal with ESPN this week, CBS’s Andrew Catalon is now without any analysts on his crew. Last season, Catalon worked with McCourty and Charles Davis, who is set to be CBS’s lead college football analyst this season.

Ross Tucker called some games for CBS last year. Whenever I’ve listened to him, I found him to be a really good listen. Tucker has that important quality where he does X’s and O’s, but also mixes in humor and personality. I think a booth of Catalon and Tucker would be solid for CBS. And let me give CBS one piece of advice here: We don’t need a three-person booth. It’s completely unnecessary. Just give Catalon one analyst, please.

The only way the Knicks become a storied franchise nationally is if they keep winning. The reason the Yankees are the Yankees and the Cowboys are the Cowboys is that they’ve each won numerous championships, not just one. The Knicks’ run was special this year because of the way it happened. They had a long winning streak in the postseason, filled with absurd blowouts and even more absurd comebacks. That won’t be replicated. If the Knicks are to become a cultural phenomenon, they need to win another title or two.

While I appreciate the cynical nature of the question, I absolutely believe the old Knicks were rooting for the current Knicks.

I’ve seen a lot of horror stories over the past 24 hours regarding people having been shut out of the parade. I’m not sure how anyone could’ve expected anything different. Any time you have an event with that many people, there are going to be issues. I do think everyone from the Knicks to local government to the police should’ve done a much better job sending out public statements to let everyone know space was going to be limited and people were going to be turned away once that space was filled. The messaging certainly wasn’t clear or thorough.

Given what we saw from Silvio at the Columbus Day parade and at his kid’s soccer games, I think he would’ve snapped at the parade if someone got out of line.

Last Friday, when FanDuel offered a boost of +100 (with a $25 max bet) on the U.S. team to have at least one shot on goal. It’s always nice when someone gives you $25 for free.

I have seen a few of these and they are hilarious. This is a pretty good compilation video.

If you’re not into your local baseball team, just enjoy your summer for the next six weeks and don’t worry about sports. Once Aug. 1 rolls around, NFL training camps will be going on and the smell of pro football will be back in the air.

Now for some Instagram questions.

Is there any juice for the U.S. Open on Long Island this week or is it World Cup/Knicks? –@thesteverock

Even here on Long Island, I can tell you that nobody cares about anything right now except the Knicks. Everywhere you go, people are wearing jerseys and shirts. Stores have put Knicks signs and banners in their windows. A ton of food establishments are offering Knicks bagels, Knicks cupcakes, Jalen Brunson egg sandwiches, etc. etc.

You have to bet on one: horse racing, World Cup, WNBA? –@billy_blake

I have actually bet all three of these things, with my first-ever World Cup bet coming last Friday, as I detailed above. Out of three, though, my preference would be to bet the WNBA. I can gauge trends in the WNBA. From my experience, big favorites always seem to cover in the WNBA.

Favorite MSG Network personality besides Clyde and Breen over the years? –@itsameandyp

If I can’t say Clyde Frazier or Mike Breen, I assume I can’t say Marv Albert and John Andariese either. So, I’m gonna go with Bob Page. If you are old like me, you will remember that Page hosted MSG’s nightly studio show and would rip people left and right. He was highly entertaining.

Who is on your Mount Rushmore of sideline/field reporters? –@mchuck16

I can’t say I have a Mount Rushmore. I don’t really know how you differentiate from the slew of sideline reporters we’ve seen over the years. Is Tracy Wolfson better than Lesley Visser? Is Erin Andrews better than Melissa Stark? Is Jim Gray better than Pam Oliver? Who knows.

I will tell you this: My all-time favorite sideline reporter, without a doubt, was Craig Sager.

Favorite Curb Your Enthusiasm guest (not counting the Seinfeld cast)? –@amyroanne

If Richard Lewis isn’t considered a cast member, I’d go with Wanda Sykes. This is a top five all-time scene for me.

Do you watch Shorsey? If not, you MUST start immediately? –@joshfeller

How bad is it that I’ve never heard of Shorsey?

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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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