1. You know the expression about not s—— where you eat. Well, clearly Charles Barkley does not subscribe to that philosophy.
The man who gets paid by CBS and Turner to work on their studio shows for the NCAA tournament absolutely lit up the NCAA during last night’s postgame show. The topic was recruiting and the rules implemented by the NCAA.
“The NCAA, they’re like the Barney Fife of the world,” said Barkley in a reference that probably went over the head of anyone under 30. “They do an awful job of administrating. We got guys on tape paying players three years ago they ain’t saying nothing about. The NCAA, they are so far behind the times. They’re so reactive. It’s time for them to get their crap together. They say they wanna stop cheating, they wanna make everything equal with the women, because that was a travesty and a disgrace. It’s time for us, because we’re in bed with the NCAA, we’re doing all the social stuff in the NBA. It’s time for us guys, the coaches, to say, ‘Yo man, you all gotta do a better job.’ ”
I don’t know if this was Barkley’s way of making sure this is the last NCAA tournament he has to work, or if he’s even trying to get out of working the rest of this tournament, but regardless, you can’t accuse the lightning=rod commentator of not speaking his mind.
Forget whether you agree or disagree with what he said. The guy not only ripped the NCAA on an NCAA tournament postgame show, but even threw CBS and Turner under the bus by pointing out the networks are in bed with the NCAA.
If any other broadcaster did that, they would’ve already been suspended or fired.
2. The latest SI Media Podcast features a great conversation with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. Topics discussed include how the “Bad Beats” segment is put together, the bond that gamblers share, the NFL embracing betting, his experience with COVID-19 (Van Pelt says three months after testing positive for the coronavirus, he still can’t taste anything), our pandemic pet peeves, whether he has any desire to call NFL games, his cameo on Ted Lasso 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.
3. I’ve written many times that I don’t understand why Durant, who is an NBA champion and makes $27 million a year, would ever bother being on social media, but he finally won me over with this.
4. Saints running back Alvin Kamara doesn’t seem to be a fan of the 17-game regular season that the NFL is expected to announce this week.
5. Blake Griffin had a solid response to people complaining about the Nets’ stockpiling talent.
6. Remember a couple of weeks ago when Gronk did the “call a person and tell them you’re busy” prank to Tom Brady? The Dodgers’ Justin Turner did it even better.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Today is the 34th anniversary of WrestleMania III. A lot of people on social media are reminiscing about Hulk Hogan’s bodyslamming Andre the Giant, but as one of my Twitter followers pointed out to this morning, this match should not be forgotten.
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.
