He made a bold move leaving for NFL Network.
1. With Kenny Mayne announcing his departure from ESPN this week after 27 years with the company, I asked Rich Eisen about life after leaving the Worldwide Leader on this week’s SI Media Podcast, which dropped Thursday morning
Eisen worked at ESPN from 1996 to 2003 before leaving for NFL Network, which, at the time, was just an upstart.
One fan was very concerned about Eisen’s transition even several months after he’d made the job switch.
The exchange went like this:
Fan: I watch you every day.
Eisen: Really? You have NFL Network?
Fan: What are you talking about? What’s NFL Network? You’re not on SportsCenter anymore?
Eisen: No, I left last May.
Fan: Are you all right?
Obviously, things worked out just fine for Eisen, who has been at NFL Network for 18 years and just hosted yet another NFL draft.
During the podcast, Eisen explained his role with the draft, shared stories about the glory days of SportsCenter, gave his thoughts on what will happen with Aaron Rodgers and weighed in on Bennifer’s reunion.
Following the interview with Eisen, the chief TV critic for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall, joined the podcast to talk about his new list of the “100 Best TV Sitcoms of All Time.”
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
2. Great tweet from the greatest quarterback of all time.
3. If you were on Twitter on Wednesday, you know the social media staffs for many NFL teams got creative with videos announcing their 2021 schedule. Personally, I enjoy this one the most, mainly because of its simplicity.
4. Blake Griffin rocked these awesome McLovin sneakers during Wednesday night's Nets game.
5. A's pitcher James Kaprielian made his first major league start Wednesday night. I was intrigued because as a Yankees fan, I always thought it was absurd we traded a top prospect like Kaprielian for Sonny Gray, but that's a whole other issue. Anyway, the righthander tossed five innings and got the win while allowing just one run on four hits.
Two things about this stood out. First, Kaprielian's dad's reaction to his his start.
And second, Kaprielian's powerfully speaking about his mom, who died when he was just 19, after the game.
6. Quick thoughts on the NFL schedule:
• ESPN's Monday Night Football schedule is good. Not great, but good.
• NBC's Sunday Night Football schedule, as always, is stacked.
• I will miss the opening Monday-night doubleheader
• I LOVE two games (Browns at Packers, 4:15 p.m. ET, Colts at Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. ET) on Christmas Day.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Today is Stevie Wonder's 71st birthday. As always, this is the video to watch on Stevie's birthday.
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 Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.