1. When it comes to Thursday Night Football, I’ve never heard one player say they like it. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a player even be neutral about it. They all seem to hate it.
However, now we have not one, but two players who are big proponents of Thursday Night Football: Travis and Jason Kelce.
On the latest episode of their New Heights podcast, the brothers brought up the topic of Amazon Prime Video getting flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football in Weeks 13–17 this season, with the flex being able to be used a maximum of only two times (which I said earlier this week was a good thing).
“I’m a huge fan of the Thursday night games,” said Jason.
“I’m a huge fan of them even later in the season, too,” said Travis.
“I am all for games being played on Thursday,” said Jason, “because that means we have walk-throughs during the middle of the week and we don’t practice and we get three days off after the game.
“Players that are anti–Thursday night games are just looking to make headlines. There’s no f---ing chance anybody with half a brain cell is against Thursday night games.”
Travis added, “I heard some quarterbacks say that they don’t like them because of game prep and they have to stay up later, work harder mentally.”
“But the other team is doing the same thing,” countered Jason. “But I get that. Quarterbacks do have to put in more work.
“The other reason I’m a fan of the Thursday night games getting flexed is I just like good football being on prime-time TV. I don’t want to turn my Thursday night television on and have to watch a bad game. I like watching good football and Thursday nights is one of the few nights I get to watch football and just enjoy it as a fan. Let’s get some good friggin’ matchups!”
Amen!
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I already named New Heights the “Best New Podcast” in 2022. This take by Jason and Travis has them as strong contenders to win “Best Podcast of 2023.”
2. Good news for those of you who will subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube this season. After initially saying it would allow you to stream on only two devices, YouTube has changed its mind, and now you will be able to stream on an unlimited amount of devices.
This just in! We’ve heard your feedback about @NFL Sunday Ticket streaming limits and we’re excited to share that we’re including unlimited simultaneous streams at home for @NFL Sunday Ticket content, on both YouTube TV and @YouTube. 🤠
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) May 25, 2023
3. I laughed way harder than I should have at this. Just keep your eye on the dude carrying the Gatorade bucket.
Nick Lorusso hits a walkoff HR for Maryland in the 10th, cooler guy bites it hard in the celebration pic.twitter.com/MZnEpuQSdL
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 26, 2023
4. Charles Barkley tried out a Boston accent last night. It was a beautiful disaster.
Chuck trying a Boston accent 🤣🤣@celtics, how’d he do?! pic.twitter.com/w1sj1FAs8o
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 26, 2023
5. I’m not religious, but I’m praying that we see Patrick Mahomes attempt this in a regular-season game this year.
Our magician working on some new spells 🪄 @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/XNguXKtgz1
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 25, 2023
6. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Thursday, and this week’s show features two interviews.
First up is WWE legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin discusses his new show on A&E, Stone Cold Takes on America, what he thinks of the current WWE story line involving Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, and his feelings on CM Punk’s status with AEW.
Austin also reminisces about his legendary career, sharing his thoughts on the biggest pop he ever got from a WWE crowd and sharing a never-before-told story about how he ended up making so much money off his famous “Austin 3:16” shirt.
Following Austin, The Athletic's Richard Deitsch joins the podcast at the 31-minute mark for a discussion on the latest sports media news. Topics covered include flex scheduling coming to Thursday Night Football and Amazon Prime, why ESPN can never close the gap with TNT when it comes to NBA studio shows, what ESPN going direct-to-consumer means, the NBA’s possible return to NBC and much more.
Following Deitsch, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, I give a recap of my night at the Sports Emmys before Sal and I talk about Jersey Shore, Taylor Swift and horrible experiences trying to book guests. The segment closes with Sal’s explaining why he doesn’t want to go to baseball games anymore.
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.
