First, Russo explains how his weekly appearance on First Take came out, the role Stephen A. Smith played in it and the overwhelming reaction from fans. Russo also discusses still being in demand at 62 years old, the bond fans still have with the old Mike and the Mad Dog show, how gambling has impacted his daily radio show, his thoughts on celebrities attending sporting events and much more.
Following Russo, Mike Florio of "Pro Football Talk" joins the podcast to talk about the latest NFL news regarding Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson. Florio also explains why he thinks Tom Brady will be the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season.
The podcast closes with our weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment featuring Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York. This week, the Jimmy and Sal get into a heated debate about the Calvin Ridley suspension.
The following transcript is an excerpt from The SI Media Podcast. Listen to the full episode on podcast players everywhere or on SI.com.
Jimmy Traina: The only reason why players betting on NFL football would be bad is if you bet against your own team and you're throwing a game. That's the only reason it would be bad, there's no other reason it's bad. Calvin Ridley has an $11 million contract with the Falcons, he's not going to fix a game. Makes no sense... to win a thousand dollars bet. This is like everything else now in life, there's no common sense applied. Let's play it out; you think the guy making $11 million is going to fix a game?
Sal Licata: Well, I don't think that it's about necessarily he could fix the game, I think it's about, you're compromising the integrity of the league.
Jimmy Traina: How?
Sal Licata: You just, you can't be a player in the league and place wagers on it.
Jimmy Traina: Why not? You're not giving me any reasons. Why not?
Sal Licata: Well, what if everybody did it then? You'd have no problem with everybody betting on the game?
Jimmy Traina: I don't think so, given the salary of every NFL player.
Sal Licata: Ridley by the way, doesn't make a lot of money. He was scheduled to make money this particular year. Now I don't think his bets were trying to do that, which I think makes it even worse. If he would have come out and said, I had a gambling problem and I bet millions of dollars on these games, I would have said, you know what, at least I could understand, the guy needs help and he's trying to win some money. Well then what the hell are you doing?
Jimmy Traina: That's so hypocritical. He's looking for some action, he's looking for some fun.
Sal Licata: You can't do that.
Jimmy Traina: Again, you're not giving me a reason, why not?
Sal Licata: I mean, that's the rule you can't do it.
Jimmy Traina: Why is it a rule?
Sal Licata: Because the majority of people will have a problem. There are people already that think that the league is on the fix and on the tape.
Jimmy Traina: But those people aren't reasonable people.
Sal Licata: But that's the majority of people, a lot of people think that.
Jimmy Traina: But there's a difference between being a psychopath that thinks Roger Goodell is fixing the games, and thinking that Aaron Rogers is going to throw an interception on purpose so he could win a $500 bet. These players are not fixing games.
Sal Licata: But it's not about Aaron Rogers who is making 200 million, it's about the guys who aren't making anything.
