1. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported on Thursday that NBC is expected to sign Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth to a contract extension through the 2029–30 season.
The biggest takeaway here is that things just became much harder for Greg Olsen, who has become extremely popular with critics and fans, to land a No. 1 analyst job in the NFL.
Here’s where things stand with the lead analyst jobs across the networks:
- CBS has Tony Romo under contract through 2030.
- ESPN has Troy Aikman under contract through 2027 (and there’s no chance ESPN breaks up Joe Buck and Aikman).
- Kirk Herbstreit told me on the SI Media Podcast a few weeks ago that he signed a five-year contract with Amazon for Thursday Night Football, which means he’ll be calling games there through 2026.
And, of course, there’s Fox, where Olsen had the lead analyst job for two seasons before Tom Brady took over this season. Brady has a 10-year deal for that gig.
Olsen wants a No. 1 job. Olsen deserves a No. 1 job. Fans would benefit from Olsen having a No. 1 job because he’s so good. Unfortunately, unless something shocking happens, it doesn’t seem like Olsen will be able to get that No. 1 job for a long time.
2. The No Fun League somehow fined Saints quarterback Derek Carr $14,000 for the Michael Jackson celebration he did during New Orelans’s blowout win against Dallas.
SAINTS WIN
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 15, 2024
SAINTS WIN
SAINTS WIN pic.twitter.com/zNQ0TBD7gI
Meanwhile, the NFL’s official Twitter account had no problem tweeting out the video of Carr’s celebration on Sunday.
Derek Carr has always had those smooth moves 😂🕺@derekcarrqb | @Saints pic.twitter.com/2ILakjzFag
— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2024
3. This was really good stuff from Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker in the middle of Shohei Ohtani’s historic day on Thursday.
In the seventh inning with runners on second and third, first base open and Ohtani coming up to bat with 49 home runs, someone in Miami’s dugout must have asked Schumaker if the Marlins were going to intentionally walk Ohtani.
You didn’t have to be a great lip reader to figure out Schumaker’s “f--- that” response.
Skip Schumaker
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 19, 2024
asked if he's walking Shohei
"F*ck that" pic.twitter.com/FxgofCdrE9
“F--- that” was the correct response because it would’ve been absurd to intentionally walk Ohtani in an 11–3 game.
After the game in which Ohtani made history by being the first MLB player to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, Schumaker further explained why walking the Dodgers DH wasn’t an option for the Marlins.
"That's a bad move, baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball-gods-wise. You go after him and see if you can get him out."
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) September 20, 2024
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker explains why they didn't walk Ohtani and what it was like to watch the historic performance tonight. pic.twitter.com/VhmZvLvmnD
4. The addition of Bill Belichick and the chemistry between the future Hall of Fame coach and his co-hosts, Chris Long, Ryan Clark and Chad Johnson, has made Inside the NFL a really good watch this season.
Boot and Stretch - the stuff of nightmares for defenses.
— Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) September 19, 2024
Belichick breaks down the Shanahan/Kubiak family coaching tree as only he could 👨🏫 pic.twitter.com/i3ff2Xv8un
5. Caitlin Clark is now responsible for the WNBA’s all-time single-game attendance record.
Thursday’s Fever-Mystics game played at the Capital One Arena in D.C. drew 20,711 fans.
Officially official ✍️
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) September 20, 2024
The largest attended game in @WNBA history 👏 pic.twitter.com/rxdrk8cKND
6. This newest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS’s lead college football play-by-play man, Brad Nessler.
Nessler talks about CBS losing the SEC and landing the Big Ten, replacing the legendary Verne Lundquist and the one college football stadium he has never called a game in.
Nessler also shares stories about the various analysts he’s worked with through the years, reveals the one event he hasn’t called but would like to, weighs in on what he thinks of Tom Brady and Nick Saban as television stars, and much more.
Nessler also talks about his friendship with wrestling icon Ric Flair and reveals whether Flair or Bill Raftery is the bigger partier.
Following Nessler, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. In this week’s segment, we discuss ESPN’s Jason Kelce–heavy Monday Night Football broadcast of Falcons-Eagles game, the trend that NFL bettors should be aware of, Saturday Night’s Main Event returning to NBC, whether The Bear is a comedy, and much more.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina 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: My second-favorite episode of The Office, “The Dundies,” aired 19 years ago today on NBC. Enjoy this deleted scene featuring Michael Scott’s rap.
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 Twitter and Instagram.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cris Collinsworth's Reported Contract Extension Is Bad News for Greg Olsen Fans.
