1. We usually cover Kevin Durant’s issues with random Twitter and Instagram users, but now he’s up against ESPN’s Jay Williams.
Williams went to ESPN on Tuesday and told a story about the Nets superstar having trouble with the NBA analyst and once compared him to Giannis Antetokounmpo. According to Williams, Durant approached him at a Christmas party a few years ago and told Williams never to compare him to Giannis.
Durant called the story a lie in the Instagram comments of a post about Williams’ anecdote.
Durant later addressed the situation on Twitter without naming Williams.
Who knows what is true here? It’s a classic she said / said. It seems strange that Williams made up this story and provided specific details about the exchange that took place at a Christmas party. Maybe Durant made the comment thinking it was confidential and just wasn’t happy that Williams was saying it on national television? Who knows?
Either way, this uproar has been more exciting than the Nets’ playoff streak, so at least Durant is entertaining us in some way.
two. I can’t imagine anyone listening to these calls from Kevin Harlan from Monday night’s Nuggets-Suns game and thinking that someone other than him should replace Marv Albert as TNT’s headliner on a play-by-play basis.
3. Dan Le Batard and his team did a 24 hour live broadcast over the weekend and according to The big advantage, nearly three million people tuned in at some point to watch the antics on YouTube. Life after ESPN will be fine for Le Batard.
Four. This is simply spectacular.
5. The NBA continues to receive good news about viewership ratings during the playoffs.
6. The last Sports Illustrated Media Podcast has two guests.
First up is ESPN’s Doris Burke. The NBA analyst looks at the disturbing trend of disgusting behavior by fans in games, whether fans are too close to players, and how this was a concern for David Stern. Burke also talks about his experience with COVID-19 and his symptoms for nine months. Other issues discussed include whether the Nets are about to prove the NBA regular season is pointless, if calling the Finals on television is a goal for her, she still feels resistance from men who don’t want women to broadcast sports. and much more.
Following Burke, Giants third baseman Evan Longoria joins the podcast to share his thoughts on Major League Baseball’s unwritten rules. Does any unwritten rule make sense? Is throwing at a player a rational retaliation? What do players think about the unwritten rules? Longoria also talks about getting into the trading card craze during the pandemic and what she enjoys about the hobby.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it at Apple, Spotify Y Stapler.
You can also see the SI Media Podcast in Youtube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Larry David doesn’t want to hear the Cobb salad nonsense.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and look at the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast Presented by Jimmy Traina at Apple, Spotify or Stapler. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter Y Instagram.
www.si.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.