1. On the latest edition of SVPod, Scott Van Pelt announced that he is not moving to 5 p.m. and taking over the old Around the Horn time slot.
Van Pelt said he had extensive talks with ESPN brass about shifting from doing SportsCenter at 11:30 p.m., but that “it didn’t make sense to mess” with the success of his late night show.
“We have had some lengthy, compelling, collaborative conversations that stretched over quite a bit of time that I really appreciated being a part of,” Van Pelt said. “The answer is, no, we’re not moving. We’re not going to change where we are for the time being.”
Citing strong ratings, strong relationships with players and leagues and various other accolades, Van Pelt said he just didn’t see the point of moving, and management agreed.
“You still like what you do at night, right? I do,” he said. “It’s rating, right? It is. I don’t want to be tacky and chesty, but we got nominated for an Emmy. Again, that’s 10 of those. So your peers in the industry feel like you’re still doing the job at a level.”
So what does ESPN do now with the 5 p.m. time slot that used to be occupied by Around the Horn?
I’m 100% biased here because I’m a big fan of both guys and both are regulars on SI Media With Jimmy Traina, but if I’m ESPN, I’d reunite former Good Morning Football colleagues Peter Schrager and Kyle Brandt. Brandt is now officially an ESPN employee after the network purchased the NFL Network, so it’s not like ESPN would have to negotiate to bring Brandt over.
I’ve said this so many times in the past and I’ll say it again: We need more shows that don’t feature former athletes and coaches. We need more shows with regular sports fans who are relatable and talk about sports the way we all talk about sports with our friends. A sports show mixed in with some pop culture would be perfect for 5 p.m.
ESPN could easily fill that slot with just one host, but it just seems like a Schrager-Brandt show would be a perfect lead-in to the Tony Kornheiser-Michael Wilbon show. As the longtime hosts of Pardon the Interruption have shown, the thing that matters the most (by far) when doing a show is chemistry. We already know that Brandt and Schrager have that from their many years working together on GMFB.
2. As a fat person, this offends me. Oregon quarterbacks coach Koa Ka’ai said he asks recruits whether they prefer vanilla or chocolate ice cream and if the recruit hesitates and doesn’t answer right away, Ka’ai is done with him.
If vanilla or chocolate isn’t your favorite, and you like something such as cookies and cream or coffee or mint chocolate chip, this isn’t a question you can immediately answer. Yes, everyone has a preference, but there could be factors, such as soft serve or hard ice cream, brand, etc. Plus, what if you don’t care about either flavor because they are both boring?
Ka’ai needs to understand that some of us aren’t so flip in answering important questions.
NEW: Oregon QB coach Koa Ka’ai evaluates recruits with a simple question: “Chocolate or vanilla ice cream?”
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) April 8, 2026
Any hesitation… and coach doesn’t want him.
“If you pause on ice cream,” Ka’ai says, “what are you going to do on 3rd down in front of 110,000 fans?” 😳 pic.twitter.com/2LgXHcqUOH
3. Massive credit to umpire Dan Merzel here for not even flinching while Blue Jays manager John Schneider got right in his face to berate him while turning red and having veins pop out.
I would’ve soiled myself if I was Merzel, but he actually went right back at Schneider.
This was a very solid manager-umpire dispute.
John Schneider is as red as a human can possibly get while yelling at this umpire pic.twitter.com/sxg4HKdfis
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 8, 2026
4. During Tuesday’s Cubs-Rays game, a fan in the stands lost his pants while trying to go after a foul ball. And it was all on camera.
We don’t know if Cubs play-by-play guy Jon “Boog” Sciambi couldn’t compose himself because he was laughing or if he was just flustered that a bare ass made it on to the telecast, but Sciambi stayed silent for more than 30 seconds after the fan’s full moon.
People love to say, “I’m speechless” right before rambling on with a bunch of words, but the bare bottom literally left Sciambi speechless.
"Ooh. Everybody okay down there?" - Jim Deshaies
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) April 8, 2026
Boog Sciambi stayed silent after seeing a full moon ☠️ https://t.co/Wc0sBnJ1bT
5. This is why Keith Hernandez is one of the most popular local broadcasters in sports. When his partner, Gary Cohen, tried to talk about the Mets’ weekend series against the Giants during Tuesday’s SNY telecast, Hernandez told him that San Francisco was so bad he had to turn the games off and didn’t watch. Why can’t all broadcasters be this honest?
Gary Cohen tries to throw some analysis from the last couple of games at Keith Hernandez.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) April 7, 2026
Hernandez basically doesn’t want to hear it and says he had to turn the games off because they were so bad. pic.twitter.com/iTihEQGHWd
Cheap plug: If you missed Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling on SI Media With Jimmy Traina a couple of weeks ago, you can listen to the interview here or watch it here.
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation about all the latest news withThe Athletic’s sports media reporter, Andrew Marchand.
Topics discussed include: Netflix’s awful broadcast of the Yankees-Giants game on Opening Night; what Netflix gets out of a deal with Major League Baseball; NBC’s return to airing MLB games; Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill’s work on the NCAA men’s tournament; CBS’s and Turner’s very deep and impressive roster of college basketball announcers; issues with the CBS/Turner tournament studio show; the NFL trying to feature as many standalone games as possible and much more.
Following Marchand, Sal Licata, from SNY TV andThe Sal Licata Show, joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Sal gives a report on what it was like to experience the ABS challenge system in person at a recent Mets game while I break down my issues with a new commercial starring Larry David. In addition, I talk about becoming obsessed with HBO’s new show, DTF St. Louis.
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: Happy 45th birthday to actor Taylor Kitsch, also known as Riggins from one of the best TV shows of all time, Friday Night Lights.
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 Says He’s Not Moving to 5 p.m..
