NFL and its broadcast partners should pick up Saturday void of CFB is done
1. The college football season appears to be hanging in the balance, but I have a feeling the story about the sports' future will have a lot of twists and turns before we know the official outcome.
But for the sake of me needing something to write about today, let's go with the scenario that the entire season is canceled. Let's pretend for now that we get an announcement this week that the entire 2020 college football season is axed.
Here's the No. 1 question that I would have: What does the NFL do in terms of scheduling on Saturdays?
Is there enough time for the NFL to adjust its 2020 schedule on the fly? Would the league try to own Saturdays by playing games at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.? Would they opt for just games at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., or would the NFL just add a Saturday prime-time package at 8 p.m.?
Then you have the issue of which network would air the extra games. The league's broadcast partners, CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN, would have open spots for NFL games since they all air college football games that won't happen. Plus, there is always the NFL Network.
Like with everything, this will come down to money. The league wants to make up for the lost revenue from no paying customers in their stadiums. The networks need to fill time and sell advertising to cover the losses from no college football games.
So the money tells you the NFL and its broadcast partners will definitely want to make Saturday an NFL day. The biggest question will be coming to an agreement on logistics and timing.
And, of course, actually playing a season from start to finish.
But it's hard to imagine the NFL not trying to capitalize on the open Saturdays if the entire college football season is canceled.
2. TNT's Ernie Johnson celebrated a birthday over the weekend and his network shared this amazing flashback of the Inside the NBA host.
3. Thanks to former Washington quarterback Mark Sanchez, we know that the organization needs to update its official letterhead.
4. Former WWF star Kamala died yesterday. Every wresting fan will want to watch the video of one of his matches below just to see his opponent.
5. The latest Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features an interview with Sports Business Journal reporter John Ourand, who joined me to discuss the latest sports media news, including the NFL's television future and which packages may be on the move, the Rock buying the XFL, WWE's newest big hire, the state of podcasts, why the gambling explosion hasn't happened and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.
6. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I discovered Gordon Ramsay's TikTok account over the weekend. The chef just makes fun of people's horrible attempts at creating wild dishes, and it's highly amusing.
7. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: No college football would mean no College GameDay, and that would hurt.
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.