SI

Shaq Correctly Predicts Heat Win Over Celtics, Wins A Lot of Money

Before the Heat's 111-101 over the Celtics, Shaq said Miami would win by 10, made a bet with Charles Barkley, and won.

Jimmy Traina

In this story:

1. The NBA may not love to hear about gambling stories right now since we're on the heels of the Jontay Porter scandal, but this is a good one. A very good one.

Before the Heat-Celtics game Wednesday night on TNT, Shaquille O'Neal said Miami would win by 10.
Charles Barkley said let’s bet on it.

With the Heat down three, 61-58, at halftime, Shaq stuck to his guns and told Barkley he wanted to double the wager.

The end result: Heat 111, Celtics 101.

The fallout: Shaq showing off wads of hundred dollar bills while taunting his Inside the NBA colleagues and people accusing Shaq of having the script.

2. A brand new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this morning and this week's guest is newly retired Yankees radio legend, John Sterling.

Sterling, who was the radio voice of the Yankees for 36 seasons before stepping away from the job in mid-April, talks about his decision to retire now and clarifies reports on his health. He also addresses the social media backlash the Yankees faced after giving him an 83-inch television as a retirement gift.

Sterling also shares the advice he'd give the person who succeeds him as the Yankees radio play-by-play person, shares his thoughts on his "streak" of calling 5,060 straight games and remembers his time as a sports-talk radio host. Sterling also reveals the one Yankees player who asked him to change his famous home run call and talks about the role Mike and the Mad Dog played in helping the home run calls become a thing.

Following Sterling, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for our weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment. This week's topics include the NFL draft, Aaron Boone's ridiculous ejection, the upcoming unedited "Roast of Tom Brady" on Netflix, Taylor Swift's new album and more.

You can listen to each podcast by clicking into the tweet below. You can also listen on Apple and Spotify.

3. If you're looking forward to tonight's NFL draft and you're wondering about your viewing options, here's a breakdown of who you can watch for full coverage.

4. Wednesday's Orioles-Angels game ended when Los Angeles' Jo Addell was thrown out trying to steal second base. The only problem was that Addell was safe. However, even after replay, the umpires ruled him out. This led to one of the best broadcasting meltdowns you'll ever hear, with the Angels' crew of Wayne Randazzo and Mark Gubicza GOING OFF on the umps and replay officials.

5. I've seen this quote about Caleb Williams on social media a few times over the past two days and I still have no idea what it means. Is the comparison to Prince supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing? I legit have no clue. I would assume any comparison to Prince is a good thing, since he's one of the greatest artists of all time, but this quote doesn't sound like a positive quote. Maybe I'm just an idiot.

6. This was a good podcasting moments via New Heights. Jason Kelce called out brother Travis for passing on saying the word "pseudonym" because it was too difficult to pronounce and Travis bragging that he substitued "myriad" for "pseudonym."

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Great stuff here by Jerry Seinfeld on filming the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale.

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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