1. “It’s not a banner. It’s a decoration.”
That was a frustrated Shaquille O’Neal on TNT on Tuesday night reacting to the Lakers‘ hanging a banner for winning the meaningless in-season tournament.
O'Neal, who won three real championships with the Lakers, was adamant that whatever the Lakers hung Monday night was not a banner.
While the segment with cohosts Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith was light and playful, Shaq made his feelings about the Lakers’ celebrating the in-season tournament win more than clear.
“This is just an ornament,” O’Neal said. “It’s not a banner because it doesn’t look like the others banners.”
Taking out a Starbucks cup, O’Neal then said, “I can’t put stuff on this thing and call it a Christmas tree.”
In classic Inside the NBA fashion, the more O’Neal got annoyed by the thought of the Lakers’ hanging a banner to celebrate the hokey and contrived tournament, the more Johnson and Smith pushed his buttons.
“They called it a banner as they raised it,” said Johnson.
“The P.A. guy,” chimed in Smith.
“Well, guess what? The P.A. is gonna be working for the Weather Channel next week,” said Shaq.
The segment then ended with O’Neal hilariously trying to sing a Christmas carol to his Starbucks cup.
“This is just an ornament. ... It’s not a banner because it doesn't look like the other banners... it’s decoration.”
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 20, 2023
Shaq reacts to the Lakers hanging an In-Season Tournament Championship banner 😅 pic.twitter.com/LwKKxUKHq5
2. This take right here by Fox Sports’ Ben Verlander is every single thing that’s wrong with the Dodgers signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract.
"It's the most important signing in Dodgers history." @BenVerlander breaks down the impact that the Shohei Ohtani-Dodgers deal will have on this season and beyond. pic.twitter.com/TJlbCOKCil
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 19, 2023
Let’s get the the obvious thing out of the way right off the bat. Verlander has been getting hammered on social media for saying Ohtani is the most important signing in Dodgers’ history because there was this this other guy named Jackie Robinson, so that part speaks for itself.
Putting that aside, Verlander never once mentioned winning the World Series in his over-the-top praise of the Dodgers’ signing.
He mentioned the two buzzwords that have been spouted repeatedly since L.A. landed Ohtani: marketing and branding. He talked about the Dodgers’ betting odds. He talked about Ohtani going into the Hall of Fame (even though he isn’t a Hall of Famer yet), he offered some word salad about Ohtani’s signing “living forever” and he absurdly claimed that people in the future will want to go to Dodgers games because Ohtani once played for the team.
What Verlander never talked about was how important it will be for Ohtani to win a World Series. He never talked about how many World Series Ohtani would have to win to justify a $700 million contract. He never talked about anything related to what takes place on the field.
I thought the goal of every MLB team was to win the World Series, but apparently real goal is to have good marketing.
If Ohtani does not win a World Series in his time as a Dodgers, how can anyone say his $700 millon deal was a good one? You can even make the argument that for $700 million, Ohtani would have to win at least two or three World Series to justify his salary.
But apparently, winning the World Series isn’t as important as branding and marketing anymore.
3. On his latest podcast episode, Julian Edelman shared a story about the time he met Michael Jordan. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from Jordan, but still a fantastic story.
View the original article to see embedded media.
4. Before beating the Commanders on Sunday, Rams quarterback Matt Stafford got some solid advice from one of his daughters: “Daddy, don’t get tackled.”
"Don't get tackled!"
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) December 19, 2023
The Stafford family is too cute 🥺pic.twitter.com/sQXq42TqAb
5. I don’t know if you can fully appreciate this video if you aren't familiar with New York City’s FAO Schwarz, but watching The Rock cover the bill for all the shoppers at the iconic toy store was pretty awesome.
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6. A bonus episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Tuesday, and it features an interview with AEW wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman, also known as MJF.
Friedman talks about his rise in AEW, his heel and face personas, why he stands out in professional wrestling, whether he considers himself a locker-room leader and the status of his contact with the company, and Cody Rhodes recently saying that he thinks Friedman will one day wind in up WWE.
MJF also weighs in on CM Punk, headlining a pay-per-view show in his hometown of Long Island, having ADD and being inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Friedman also discusses recently running into John Cena on the red carpet, how and why his fascination with Burberry started, having a wrestling-themed bar mitzvah, the time a fan plotted to possibly abduct him, the best Long Island food establishments and much more.
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.
