1. Since being let go from ESPN, Max Kellerman has been very quiet. Basically silent.
That has now changed. Kellerman, who just became part of The Ringer family with a new show, joined Bill Simmons on the latest episode of his podcast. And during that interview, Kellerman gave the best summation I’ve ever heard of why hot take shows are awful.
“What is a hot take?” Kellerman asked while explaning what the issue is with First Take. “A hot take is a counterintuitive conclusion.”
“If there are 12 topics a day and you have 12 hot takes on those topics because, by and large, there is a consensus about sports, this guy is good, this guy’s not as good, this team is going in the right direction, the wrong direction, whatever it is. The consensus is usually correct, right? Some small percentage of the time, ‘ah ha, in fact, what everyone thinks is not true.’
“If you have a counterintuitive conclusion about every topic in sports every day, you are insane. Twelve hot takes a day? Unbelievable. You’ve come to 12 conclusions that go against the consensus every single day?”
Kellerman then moved on from analyzing First Take and shows of its ilk to analyzing Smith.
“Stephen A. has no hot takes. I can’t think of any counterintuitive conclusion that he ever reaches. That’s not his job on the air. His job is to be the big reactor. He’s there to hear the crazy conclusion that his partner has come to and actually be the everyman with a loud voice.”
Every single thing that Kellerman said is true. The saddest part, though, is that the sports media business is embracing hot takes more than ever. Nothing really matters in this world anymore expect a video clip somewhere in the 30 seconds to two minutes range of someone saying something absurd or doing something absurd so that it can get engagement on social media.
2. The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch broke the news Wednesday that the Chiefs-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving drew a whopping 57.2 million viewers for CBS, easily shattering the record for most watched regular-season game of all time.
The previous record was 42 million viewers three years ago for a Giants-Cowboys Thanksgiving game.
The Packers-Lions game on Fox pulled in 47.7 million viewers.
3. Sadly, we are getting close to the end of college football Bad Beats, so enjoy these segments while you can. Here is this week’s version featuring Scott Van Pelt and Stanford Steve.
Bad Beats
— Stanford Steve (@StanfordSteve82) December 2, 2025
Week 14
Fighting the elements in New England pic.twitter.com/ycA37Cowos
4. Saturday, Dec. 20, will be one hell of a day for football fans. Here’s how the schedule will look that day:
- Noon – College football playoff game (ABC/ESPN)
- 3:30 p.m. – College football playoff game (TNT)
- 5 p.m. – Eagles at Commanders (Fox)
- 7:30 p.m. – College football playoff game (TNT)
- 8:20 p.m. – Packers at Bears (Fox)
5. For Pardon My Take and Bill Simmons to be No. 2 and 3 on this list of Spotify’s top 10 sports podcasts of 2025 after doing this for so many years is beyond impressive. To sustain massive audiences for that long in this insane business is remarkable.
On a side note: PMT and Simmons are really No. 1 and No. 2 in my book. New Heights gets a big asterisk considering how many listen not for Jason or Travis Kelce.
EXCLUSIVE: Spotify's top 10 sports podcasts of 2025:
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 3, 2025
1️⃣ New Heights
2️⃣ Pardon My Take
3️⃣ The Bill Simmons Podcast
4️⃣ Fantasy Footballers
5️⃣ The MeatEater Podcast
6️⃣ The Pat McAfee Show
7️⃣ Jesser
8️⃣ The Ryen Russillo Podcast
9️⃣ National Park After Dark
🔟 Bussin' With The Boys
6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with ESPN president, Burke Magnus.
Magnus talked about fallout from the YouTubeTV-Disney carriage dispute, whether ESPN has a public relations problem and what the new deal with YouTubeTV means for cable companies.
Burke also shared and how the partnership with Turner Sports for Inside the NBA is going.
Other topics discussed include the possibility of Scott Van Pelt moving into Around the Horn’s old 5 p.m. timeslot, Molly Qerin’s departure from the network, the various Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith controversies, Paul Finebaum possibly leaving ESPN for politics, whether Monday Night Football doubleheaders are dead, how the new partnership with the WWE is going and much more.
The podcast wrapped up with the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment featuring Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY in New York.
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 YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It was 25 years ago today that HBO aired the “Beloved Aunt” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. If you know, you know.
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 Max Kellerman Perfectly Explains Why ‘Hot Take’ Shows Are Completely Ridiculous.
