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Episode 341 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features an interview with "New York Post" sports media columnist, Andrew Marchand. Some of the topics discussed include whether Ian Eagle or Jim Nantz should call the Final Four for CBS/Turner, how Jim Nantz's contract negotiations went with CBS and how both sides feel about his new deal, ESPN's decision to fire NBA analyst Paul Pierce after he posted an Instagram Live video of himself partying with strippers, Kirk Herbstreit blasting ESPN colleague Dan Orlovsky over Orlovsky's comments about Justin Ohio State quarterback, Justin Fields, which he made on the "Pat McAfee Show." We closed out the podcast by talking about how Jim Rome's career stacks up against other radio hosts and the anniversary of his infamous incident with Jim Everett. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 341 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features an interview with WWE superstar, Edge. The man, also known as, Adam Copeland talks about his upcoming WrestleMania main event match with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. Did he ever think he'd headline a WrestleMania when he retired from the company in 2011 after a very serious neck injury? Did he think he'd ever main event WrestleMania when he returned to the WWE at the 2020 Royal Rumble? Can he properly explain what that reaction from fans at the Rumble was like for him? Other topics we discussed include Edge's feeling on his best friend Christian/Jay Reso, leaving WWE for AEW, his reaction to the Undertaker saying today's wrestlers are soft, the key to a character mixing humor with good in-ring wrestling, the match he wish he had, how he feels about his "live sex show" today and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 340 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. The "SportsCenter" host talks about his popular "Bad Beats" segment and gives us the inside details on how the feature is put together by producers. He also talks about ad libbing the segment, the importance of Stanford Steve to the bit and the bizarre bond that gamblers have with one another. Van Pelt also discusses Roger Goodell's recent comments about the NFL possibly embracing gambling content, his appearance on Jason Sudiekis' show, "Ted Lasso," the problem these days with podcasts, what it's been like to host "SportsCenter" over the past year during the pandemic, his own battle with Covid-19 and the lingering effects he still feels four months after testing positive and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 339 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features an interview with Austin Karp, the Managing Editor at "Sports Business Journal." During the conversation, we discuss the NFL's expected television deals and what changes we will potentially see, such as flex scheduling for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" and who will carry "Thursday Night Football." We also talked about college basketball taking a big ratings hit this season and whether the NCAA Tournament can reverse that trend, why ESPN spent so much money on reacquiring the NHL, why the WWE-Peacock deal is a win-win for both parties, why Oprah Winfrey drew a big rating for her special with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, why the Grammy Awards suffered their lowest rating ever and now we are becoming a streaming world faster and faster each day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 338 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features two guests.First up is ESPN play-by-play man, Ryan Ruocco, who was calling the Nuggets-Mavericks game on March 11, 2020 when the NBA announced that the season would be suspended because of Covid-19. Ruocco talks about what that experience was like, how his mindset about Covid changed from that night until now, whether he'd be comfortable calling games in full arenas, whether he ever got used to calling games from home and much more.Following Ruocco, Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent joins the podcast to discuss how the media has covered Covid, what the media has done well and not so well, what the media's responsibilities are in reporting about Covid vaccines, did he ever expect a pandemic to become so political, what it's like to cover media while working for a media company, the cable news wars and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on Episode 337 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio explains why gambling is a major factor in the NFL going to a 17-game regular season and why he expects the league to eventually go to an 18-game regular season. Does the 17th regular season game mean we're going to finally get a Super Bowl during President's Day Weekend? Florio shares his thoughts on that topic and also talks about other scheduling changes we could see with the NFL. Other topics discussed on this episode include the TV rights deals that the NFL is about to close with its broadcast partners, why the league was able to get such a huge rights fee increase and what's going on with Sunday Ticket. We also talk about how the offseason has become bigger than the regular season when it comes to people's interest in the league, clickbait stories and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 336 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features two interviews. First up is Bryan Curtis, Editor-At-Large for The Ringer.Curtis talks about a recent article he wrote that connect Brent Musburger's firing from CBS in 1990, which elevated Jim Nantz as the network's lead voice, to Nantz's current contract situation with CBS. Curtis also discusses the NFL asking networks for a 100 percent rights fee increase on their TV deals, why announcers don't matter as much as we think and much more.Following Curtis, Alan Sepinwall, the cheif TV critic for 'Rolling Stone" joins the podcast to share some television recommendations for listeners. In addition, Sepinwall and Traina discuss "Your Honor," "Ted Lasso," "Young Rock" and "Schitt's Creek." Sepinwall also shares his thoughts on this week's Golden Globe Awards and gives us her personal picks for some of the categories. Lastly, Sepinwall, who wrote the book, "The Sopranos Sessions" talks about how many people watched the smash HBO show for the first time during the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on Episode 335 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is Darren Rovell, the Senior Executive Producer for the Action Network. The main focus of the episode is the explosion in the trading cards business. From why the boom happened, whether it will last to the process of getting cards graded and selling them for profit, Rovell goes in-depth on explaining many of the aspects of the current trading card craze. He also explains that people are buying and selling more than cards. Game tickets, VCR tapes and checks are also in high demand. In addition to discussing the trading card world, Rovell and Traina also talk about the Super Bowl streaker who claims he won $375,000 on a $50,000 bet and the possibility of Twitter adding a pay service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on episode 334 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is NFL columnist Kevin Clark from The Ringer. Clark, who also appears on podcasts and hosts the video show, "Slow News Day," talks about the Super Bowl's lackluster ratings and why the league is having a long-time issue with the 18-49 crowd. Clark also discusses how sports fan's viewing habits have changed during the pandemic and how they may change after the pandemic. In addition, Clark shares insights into his writing process, reveals what makes a good story and explains why NFL training camps are so important to him. He also gives us the behind-the-scenes story on transitioning to podcasting and the genesis of "Slow News Day." Other topics talked about include Aaron Rodgers relationship with the media, the best concerts to see at low capacity and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In honor of Super Bowl Week, Episode 333 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features a roundtable discussion with Erin Andrews from Fox Sports and Kyle Brandt from the NFL Network's "Good Morning Football." Andrews explains why this week is like Christmas, while Brandt explains why this week is a drag. The duo also talk about how weird it is to not be in Tampa for the Big Game, andTom Brady looking younger than ever. We also discuss the best halftime shows of all time, who we'd want to see perform at halftime of next year's Super Bowl, some of the fun prop bets being offered on the game and whether the Super Bowl should be played on Saturdays or the Sunday of President's Day weekend. Other topics covered include boy bands, favorite alcoholic beverages, reality shows and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on Episode 332 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is WWE superstar, Roman Reigns. The WWE Universal champion pulled no punches in responding to recent claims made by The Undertaker and Bill Goldberg that today's WWE wrestlers are "soft." Reigns also explains why he thinks the superstars of today have it tougher than those who performed during the company's "Attitude Era." Reigns also discussed his long-awaited heel turn and how that has gone for him, why this WrestleMania may not be right for a match against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and whether he has any concerns about performing in front of fans at WrestleMania during the pandemic. The man known as "The Head of the Table" also talks about what it's like to be the father of not one, but two sets of twins, gives a Bucs-Chiefs Super Bowl prediction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on Episode 331 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is John Ourand. The "Sports Business Journal" reporter talks about why NBC decided to shut down NBC Sports Network and what that means for sports that aired on the cable channel. We also discussed why the WWE decided to make a deal with Peacock for the WWE Network and whether the move will start a consolidation of streaming services. Other topics we covered include the upcoming NFL TV deals and how it looks like everything will remain the same except for the Thursday Night Football package, how Amazon fits into the NFL's TV future and how they did airing an exclusive game this season, why John thinks the Super Bowl rating won't be as big as Jimmy predicts and much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on Episode 330 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is Andrew Siciliano. The host of DirecTV's popular RedZone channel talks about the biggest changes he's seen with the show over the 16 years its been on the air, what it was like for him to miss Week 6 of the 2020 season because of a false positive Covid test, why he couldn't watch RedZone that day, why he likes the unbalanced schedule between 1 pm ET games and 4:25 pm ET games, what the end of the regular season is like for him, which NFL player he'd like to see as the subject of a "Last Dance'-esque documentary, why he thinks sports programs should not cover pro wrestling, his desire to cover politics in a RedZone way and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guest on Episode 329 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is Troy Aikman. FOX's lead NFL analyst, who will call the Bucs-Saints divisional playoff game, explains why Tom Brady and Drew Brees have been able to have so much success at the late stages of their careers, reveals who he thinks deserves the most credit for the NFL being able to play an uninterrupted season during a pandemic, what it's been like calling games in empty stadiums, his philosophy for criticizing players during a game, his desire for a front-office job, the controversy with the Eagles final regular season game, why he thinks Aaron Donald is better than Lawrence Taylor whether he'd ever want to guest host a game show, recording a Country and Western album many years ago and much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 328 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" features two interviews. First up is "New York Post" sports media reporter, Andrew Marchand. Marchand and Jimmy Traina talk about the latest sports media news topics including Tom Rinaldi leaving ESPN for FOX, what's going on with Tony Romo, Jim Nantz's contract status, ESPN getting fooled by a fake Adam Schefter story, a potential problem for FOX's college football pregame show, the future of NFL broadcasts and much more.Following Marchand, reporter Armen Keteyian joins the show to talk about HBO's upcoming two-part docuseries on Tiger Woods. Keteyian, who serves as an executive producer of "Tiger," goes in depth on all things Woods, from his rise to the most dominating golfer on earth to various scandals to his comeback win at the 2019 Masters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 327 of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast is the second part of a roundtable discussion with Peter Schrager of "Good Morning Football" and Andrew Perloff from the Dan Patrick Show. In this episode, we talk about why "The Last Dance" was the sports media event of the year, sports shows we loved, sports podcasts that got us through 2020 and underrated sports media people, athletes we'd like to see transition to sports media and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 326 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" is a roundtable discussion with Peter Schrager of the "Good Morning Football" and Fox Sports and Andrew Perloff from the Dan Patrick Show. The episode recaps the year in sports media and pop culture. This episode focuses on how we adjusted our media consumption during a pandemic as we highlight the best shows we watched, the best podcasts we listened to and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 325 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" features a conversation with SiriusXM radio host, Chris Russo. The Mad Dog, who also hosts "High Heat" on the MLB Network talks about the challenges of doing sports talk radio during a pandemic, deciding to talk about Covid and the election on a sports show, why he's not a fan of Tony Romo, his dream NFL broadcast team, the importance of Howard Stern to SiriusXM, his one problem with Sour Shoes imitating him, his son's very successful cameo on a recent show and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 324 of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features two interviews. First up is Mike Tirico from NBC Sports. Tirico talks about still having a heavy workload through the pandemic, how hard it is to call blowouts, the NFL blocking him from calling "Thursday Night Football" when he left ESPN, succeeding Al Michaels on "Sunday Night Football" and his relationship with Al, whether NFL play-by-play broadcasters are too easy on referees and much more.Kornacki discusses his appearance on NBC's "Football Night in America," where he broke down the NFL playoff picture, how much prep he had to do for the gig, the most difficult part of working Election Night, whether sports or politics is more tribal, whether he owns a pair of jeans and if he has a rivalry with John King. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 323 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" features a conversation with former NFL player, Chris Long. The Super Bowl champion talks about hosting Amazon Prime's Thursday night pregame show, becoming a prolific podcaster and whether he'd want to call NFL games. Long also shares the player perspective on how teams are handling this highly unusual season, what's going on with Tom Brady in Tampa and why he's high on the Packers. Other topics discussed include shaving, UGGs, an "Office" storyline we would've liked to see and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices