1. If you’re a basketball fan, you have been blessed over the past week to have Kevin Harlan behind the mic for a combination of incredible NCAA tournament games and NBA games.
The CBS and TNT play-by-play guy is on quite a heater thanks to constantly working and consistently getting exciting games. Here is a rundown of Harlan’s week:
Thursday, March 27: Harlan calls Texas Tech’s 85–83 overtime win against Arkansas, which saw the second-biggest comeback in Sweet 16 history.
TEXAS TECH BEATS ARKANSAS IN OVERTIME 😱🚨
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2025
SECOND LARGEST COMEBACK IN SWEET 16 HISTORY 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Hag6WRyJL5
Saturday, March 29: Harlan calls Florida’s thrilling victory over Texas Tech in which the Gators erased a nine-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining to win, 84–79.
"THE GATORS ARE GOING TO THE FINAL FOUR" 🗣️#MarchMadness @GatorsMBK pic.twitter.com/m2QYIw6hO7
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 30, 2025
Monday, March 31: Harlan goes back to the NBA and calls the Lakers’ 104–98 win over the Rockets that was sealed by a tremendous LeBron James block.
LEBRON JAMES BLOCK. 🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 1, 2025
pic.twitter.com/258EY066Zl
Tuesday, April 1: Harlan is behind the mic for the Timberwolves’ 140–139 double overtime win against the Nuggets that featured a 61-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist performance from Nikola Jokic in the losing effort.
A FOUL ON THE FINAL THREE-POINT SHOT 😱
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 2, 2025
THIS SEQUENCE IS INSANE. pic.twitter.com/IBysO7j0Em
JOKIĆ HAS A CAREER-HIGH 60 PTS 🃏
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 2, 2025
UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/t4SJHlJDeA
Harlan’s wild week will have a big finish when he calls the Warriors-Lakers game for TNT on Thursday.
2. Here’s something you’ve never seen at a sporting event before: Some poor fan at Tuesday’s Hawks game was participating in a halftime layup contest and ended up slipping and injuring his leg.
Meanwhile, the guy’s opponent in this competition decided to go through with his layup while the other guy was down on the ground, which caused the in-game arena host to hilariously scold him, saying, “Can you just, wait, can you just be kind and come over here with me?”
BROOOOOO AN ATLANTA HAWKS FAN JUST TORE HIS ACL DURING A HALFTIME LAYUP CONTEST 😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/Idk6ZPStQg
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 2, 2025
3. It appears all that hullabaloo about the Four Nations thing didn’t pay off even a little bit for the NHL because the league’s ratings are down 10% from last year.
Solid deal up north. Hopefully the Canadian numbers hold.
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) April 2, 2025
Down here in the U.S., NHL regular-season audience likely to have a double-digit percentage drop compared to 2023-24 campaign.
Viewership across ABC, ESPN, TNT down 10% https://t.co/rpNE1nNyhu
4. Maryland fan and alum Scott Van Pelt has very colorfully weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kevin Willard bolting College Park for Villanova.
On Kevin Willard leaving Maryland for Villanova: pic.twitter.com/2t1dbrQQSf
— SVPod (@_SVPod) April 1, 2025
5. How far has CM Punk come with the WWE? After every wrestling fan thought Punk would never, ever return to the company, now he’s in a WWE ring singing “Fat Bottomed Girls” after Monday Night Raw went off the air this week.
CM Punk was out there singing “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen with the crowd last night after RAW 😭😂 I love it
— Public Enemies Podcast (@PublicEnemiesHQ) April 1, 2025
( Credit stonecoldstalley) pic.twitter.com/bFlFuJMday
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped Thursday. This week’s episode features a conversation with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch about all the latest sports media news.
Among some of the topics covered: Pat McAfee getting LeBron James in-studio for over an hour; impressive ratings for the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments; J.J. Watt becoming CBS’s No. 2 NFL analyst; Stephen A. Smith and RGIII playing the media game; the one problem with Caitlin Clark’s national TV appearances; UConn’s communications director threatening a reporter for posting video of Dan Hurley ripping officials; how the WWE has handled John Cena’s heel turn and more.
Following Deitsch, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the NCAA tournament, MLB Opening Day, Licata’s day at a New York Rangers game, a must-watch wrestling show 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 Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: The great Marvin Gaye was born on this day, April 2, in 1939. This is a good time to remember his iconic (and my personal favorite) rendition of the national anthem at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game.
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.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Harlan Is on an Unbelievable Heater.
