Kevin James to play Saints' Sean Payton in movie based on Bountygate suspension.
1. It was just announced that Kevin James, of King of Queens fame, will play Saints coach Sean Payton in an upcoming film.
When Payton was suspended by the NFL for Bountygate in 2012, he served as the offensive coordinator for his son's sixth-grade team, which went 8–2 that season. This entire saga is now going to be turned into a Netflix movie.
Obviously, this all sounds terrible and unwatchable. This announcement was also ripe material for Twitter, where people were not shy about sharing their confusion and skepticism about the casting and the movie.
As you'll see below, the tweets about the film will no doubt be more entertaining than the actual film.
2. It was an eventful night in Atlanta on Sunday. The Phillies beat the Braves, 7–6, thanks to the umpires' and instant replay's blowing a call where Philadelphia scored the winning run.
Atlanta's social media team sent an excellent tweet after the game ended.
Earlier in the night, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. did something I don't think I've seen before while watching baseball: He beat out a very routine ground ball to shortstop for a hit.
3. The mainstream gambling movement continues. ESPN will air a Daily Wager special presentation of Wednesday's Nets-Sixers game. It will feature the following:
- Game telecast: discussion about game action in relation to pregame odds (tracking closing lines for spread, total and props), tracking live odds (spread, total), discussion on futures (NBA MVP, conference odds, NBA Finals odds) and updates from other games being played.
- Pregame show: commentators to make pregame predictions and discuss game's story lines.
- Halftime show: discussion of graded bets, second-half betting preview and updates on games around the league.
4. My favorite moment from last weekend's WrestleMania came on Saturday night when Cesaro spun the King of Drip, Seth Rollins, around his neck with no hands and then gave Rollins his signature King of Swing move 23 times.
Whether you are into wrestling or not, you're lying if you say you aren't impressed by this level of athleticism.
5. Knicks announcer Walt "Clyde" Frazier dropped a Weed World reference during Sunday night's Raptors-Knicks game, much to the delight of his broadcast partner Mike Breen.
6. The latest Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, hosted by yours truly, 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 he 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's blasting ESPN colleague Dan Orlovsky over Orlovsky's comments about Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, how Jim Rome's career stacks up against other radio hosts and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 74th birthday to the legendary David Letterman.
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.