1. Tom Brady joined me this week for a brief interview on the latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast.
The conversation focused on the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s transition into the Fox broadcast booth this upcoming season.
I asked Brady what he thinks his biggest challenge will be when he joins Kevin Burkhardt on Fox’s A-team in September.
“The important part for me would be how do I continue to make it fun for people to enjoy the viewing experience,” said Brady.
“Sometimes I get a little too serious because I see myself as ‘quarterback Tom Brady’ as opposed to ‘let’s enjoy a great game of football Tom Brady.’ Sometimes I become a little too critical. So I’m trying to make sure I have the right tone. I’m very specific of how I think the game should be played. I want to see the game evolve and grow.”
I told Brady it was fascinating to hear him say being too critical could be a problem for him in the booth because outside of Troy Aikman, analysts across the NFL are far from critical.
“I think there’s a high expectation of how I expect the game to be played because I was there and I saw Coach [Bill] Belichick and I saw Hall of Famers and I played with them and played against them and I played in big games. There’s just a certain expectation level that I see for really great performers,” said Brady.
During the podcast, Brady also explained why he wanted to get into broadcasting, why he took a year off before joining Fox and revealed the game show he’d want to be on as a contestant after playing a game show host in a new Hertz commercial.
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.
2. One more thing about Brady: The Patriots held a big celebration Wednesday night as the quarterback's jersey was retired and he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. The event was streamed on the Patriots’ website.
I don’t understand what the point is of the NFL having its own network if the NFL Network isn’t going to air something like the Brady celebration. Jay Z performed. Peyton Manning, Belichick and many others spoke. Brady gave a speech.
How does this not air on the NFL Network?
"To be successful at anything, the truth is, you don't have to be special.
You just have to be what most people aren't:
consistent, determined, and willing to work for it.
No shortcuts." @TomBrady
The path to greatness is simple, but it's not easy. pic.twitter.com/quan8Ksdbd
3. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst went viral overnight for calling out Luka Doncic’s performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday during an appearance on SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt. While Windhorst is getting all the attention, my favorite part was SVP’s reaction to Windhorst lighting into Luka.
"I can't get over (Brian) Windhorst. Just absolute, just blowtorch." - Scott Van Pelt as 'SportsCenter with SVP' is closing out 😂 pic.twitter.com/C3eYNoGMlc
4. Netflix has released the trailer for its upcoming series, Receiver, which debuts on July 10 and will feature Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
5. Dan Le Batard landed the first interview with Dan Hurley after he turned down the Lakers job to remain at UConn and Hurley addressed the speculation that he used L.A. for leverage by calling it “one of the worst takes he’s ever heard.”
“One of the worst takes I’ve heard is that this was a leverage play…I don’t need leverage here. We’ve won back to back national championships.”
- Dan Hurley shuts down the rumors that this was all some sort of leverage play to get a better contract with UConn.
📺… pic.twitter.com/UutSi6g19Q
6. Longtime Eagles radio voice, Merrill Reese, has been announced as the 2024 winner of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.
The Hall of Fame describes the award as follows: “Each year, the Hall of Fame recognizes an individual who has dedicated their career to improving radio and television in professional football.”
Somehow, Brent Musburger has never won this award.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Merrill Reese has been chosen to receive its 2024 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award!
Full Story: https://t.co/yWr1oLwytL pic.twitter.com/2aBkhCgjOq
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: For my wrestling fans who are reading.
This guy is awesome. pic.twitter.com/qamrp7vFVC
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.
JIMMY TRAINA
Jimmy Traina writes the daily column Traina Thoughts and hosts a weekly Sports Illustrated Media Podcast. Jimmy created the daily Hot Clicks feature in 2007, which he wrote until 2013.
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