1. Imagine being in an airport and seeing a sweating 6' 6" Scott Van Pelt sprinting through the facility in an effort to make a flight and then missing said flight.
That scene played out Tuesday when the veteran broadcaster was trying to get out of Atlanta after the Notre Dame–Ohio State national championship game. Thanks to weather issues and tons of Buckeye and Fighting Irish fans trying to return home, the Atlanta airport was reportedly a complete mess.
Van Pelt gave a thorough, animated and highly amusing breakdown of his airport adventure on the latest episode of SVPod with co-host Stanford Steve and it was a masterclass in how to tell a story.
Two words to describe @notthefakeSVP's Atlanta Airport experience Tuesday:
— SVPod (@_SVPod) January 23, 2025
Never. Again. pic.twitter.com/qrJd2Wnowq
I literally LOL’d when this Twitter exchange went up on the screen as Van Pelt was detailing his travel nightmare.
That happened - true story.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) January 21, 2025
It’s been a rough stretch for Van Pelt, who was forced to freeze to death on Saturday for the Texans-Chiefs pregame show, so we wish him the best.
Can we just put poor SVP in a studio? Nobody cares if the halftime show is on the field. pic.twitter.com/zCBSDXfCg3
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) January 18, 2025
2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped Thursday morning and this week’s guest is ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio.
Topics covered include the significant ratings drop for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, the latest regarding the league going to an 18-game schedule, Netflix’s involvement in the NFL, the narrative that the league and the refs want the Chiefs to win, the practice of having coaches interview for jobs with other teams while they are in the playoffs, what happened to Deion Sanders possibly becoming the Cowboys coach, Tom Brady’s conflict of interest in calling game for Fox while being one of the owners of the Raiders and much, much more.
Following Florio, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the AFC and NFC championship games, Chiefs fatigue, Bob Uecker, dark sitcom moments and 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.
3. Here’s what I wrote in Monday’s Traina Thoughts:
“Does anyone outside of Ohio or Indiana know there is a college football championship game tonight? College football needs to fix its postseason scheduling, ASAP. Ohio State and Notre Dame should’ve played Friday night going into the two NFL games. Playing on the Monday after the divisional round of the NFL playoffs saps the national championship game of any juice or momentum going in.”
Clearly, I was on to something because Monday night’s Ohio State–Notre Dame game drew 22.1 million viewers, which was down from the 25.1 million viewers that Michigan and Washington drew for their championship game the previous year.
Considering the two teams involved, especially Ohio State, which is a huge TV draw, that number is very weak.
As I said, the national championship game needs to be played BEFORE an NFL playoff weekend, not after. Playing on Monday after the divisional round games makes no sense because all anyone talked about Monday was the Ravens-Bills game.
4. Good news here for anyone who wants to see Inside the NBA continue on ESPN next season. CNBC’s Alex Sherman reports that Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith are on the verge of signing new deals with Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT. O’Neal’s deal was set to expire before next season, putting his status with the show in jeopardy.
Scoop: Shaq, Kenny Smith to return to TNT Sports on multiyear deals.
— Alex Sherman (@sherman4949) January 23, 2025
NBC and Amazon have both held talks with Carmelo Anthony to join their studio shows. Maria Taylor in the mix to host NBC’s show.
Much more on NBC and Amazon building out their teams: https://t.co/4MCX8gCyKs
5. This is such a bad take from Cam Newton that it’s hard to fathom.
In the ultimate apples-to-oranges comparison, he wants people to demand that Fox Sports speak about a recent workplace misconduct lawsuit filed against them if they are going to demand that Ravens tight end Mark Andrews speak to the media after his drop against the Bills.
Obviously, Fox is going to be limited in talking about a lawsuit, so this makes no sense. In addition, the correlation between a workplace misconduct lawsuit to a football player dropping a pass makes zero sense.
If you want to defend Andrews for blowing off the media, just say, “Hey, the guy is going through a really rough time since most people blame him for the Ravens losing, so I understand why he’d need some time and space.”
But Newton’s analogy is just bizarre, to say the least.
During a discussion on 'First Take' about Mark Andrews ducking the media, Cam Newton referenced the Fox Sports workplace misconduct lawsuit.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 23, 2025
"When there's a Fox report that comes out and we haven't heard anybody speak about anything or make any type of public announcement,… pic.twitter.com/LbeqRpg7CD
6. This is fascinating because I never in a million years would’ve guessed the WNBA’s linear TV audience is older than MLB’s.
Here's the median age of each sport's linear TV audience:
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 23, 2025
• NBA: 50
• TGL: 51
• EPL: 52
• NHL: 52
• F1: 53
• NFL: 54
• NWSL: 57
• MLB: 60
• WNBA: 61
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It was 25 years ago today, during the second episode of Season 2, that Bobby Bacala made his Sopranos debut in this scene.
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 Scott Van Pelt Hilariously Recalls Airport Meltdown After National Title Game.
