Ian Eagle on a 12-Year-Old Clip of Him ‘Berating’ an Analyst Resurfacing: ‘Funny but Also Sad’
1. Ian Eagle is the best.
In addition to being an outstanding play-by-play man, Eagle is also one of the funniest people in all of sports media thanks to an incredibly sharp and dry sense of humor.
However, there is a downside to being very dry. Not everyone always gets the joke.
In the case I’m about to tell you about, people didn’t get the joke–from 12 years ago!
This clip was tweeted Tuesday night from an account with 32,000 followers.
In the video, from a 2011 game on the YES Network, Eagle tells analyst Mike Fratello, “I just wanna say that earlier, you had a very patronizing tone towards me. I fully understand what a slip-screen is. I’ve been doing the NBA for 18 years. But the way you presented it initially was gobbledygook so, like the audience, I wanted you to come back and explain yourself. You then took a firing line on me, and it was uncalled for.”
The tweet, as of this morning, has 5.4 million views and 43,000 likes with most of those people thinking (a) Eagle was being serious in scolding Fratello, and (b) the video was new.
Deadspin even wrote a post about it, which it has since deleted, with the headline: “Ian Eagle lets Mike Fratello have it and I am here for it.”
And Eagle has been hearing about it.
“I’m amazed at the shelf life of this bit,” Eagle told me Wednesday. “I woke up in Portland to 40 texts and thought something serious happened. A clip of me using the term ‘gobbledygook’ with Fratello 13 years ago going viral again is not what I had on my 2024 bingo card. It’s funny but also sad.”
I can't wait to see what happens now when people see this clip.
2. Here are the viewership numbers for all the wild-card games this past weekend minus Steelers-Bills, which hasn’t been released yet.
Browns-Texans, NBC: 29 million
Dolphins-Chiefs, Peacock: 23 million
Rams-Lions, NBC: 35.8 million
Packers-Cowboys, Fox: 40 million
Eagles-Bucs, ABC/ESPN: 28.6 million
So just for the record, the lowest-rated game of the weekend, by far, despite having lots of star power, was the game that aired on Peacock.
3. This is just 30 seconds of Kevin Harlan screaming “Wembanyama.”
4. It’ll likely be one of these three teams appearing on next season’s Hard Knocks.
5. A lot of people have sent me this on Twitter because they know the love I have for Curb Your Enthusiasm and betting, but if I’m being honest, I think these choices are all pretty stupid.
6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with author, reporter and journalist James Andrew Miller.
Miller, who literally wrote the book on ESPN, pulls back the curtain on Pat McAfee’s on-air claim that executive Norby Williamson is trying to sabotage his show and leak information to the press.
Miller also weighs in on the Aaron Rodgers–Jimmy Kimmel feud, the Pat McAfee Show’s role in the drama and who made the decision to discontinue Rodgers’s appearances on the show during the NFL playoffs.
In addition, Miller discusses the return (and series end) of Curb Your Enthusiasm on Feb. 4 as well as the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos.
Following Miller, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment.
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 Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I’ve been on an old-school, ’80s and ’90s NFL YouTube kick lately. My recent findings led me to this memorable meltdown by Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
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.
