1. Turner Sports announced Monday that Ernie Johnson, Charles, Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal have all signed long-term contracts to continue hosting Inside the NBA.
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reported that Barkley’s deal is for 10 years and worth north of $100 million. Barkley celebrated the new contract by immediately telling The Dan Patrick Show, “There’s probably zero chance I’m gonna stay for the entire 10 years, to be honest with you.”
As usual, Barkley’s appearance on the show was great because of his honesty. When asked about signing such a lucrative deal, Sir Charles said, “If I don’t have enough money by now, I’m a big idiot.”
Barkley also said he still does commercials and endorsements to cover his gambling losses. He may or may not be kidding with that one.
Barkley also was candid in explaining that he re-signed with Turner, because the company asked him to stay on while it negotiates a new television contract with the NBA. I’d be willing to bet that no other broadcaster would admit this publicly.
After appearing with Patrick, Barkley then did what he does best: Entertain the masses on Inside the NBA. Among the highlights:
• Responding to a fan who said Draymond Green wasn’t wrong in punching Jordan Poole by saying, “See, this is an idiot back here.”
• Totally flopping, as usual, during a game of “Who He Play For?”
Props to Smith for busting Chuck’s chops about his performance, saying, “A guy just got paid a lot of money and doesn’t know who people play for.”
• Getting into a classic fight with Shaq about the Green punch.
It’s great to have Charles and the crew back.
2. There were three things to love about Kyle Schwarber’s 488-foot home run Tuesday night (unless you’re a Padres fan). First, the majesticness (is that even a word?) of the blast. Second, Bryce Harper’s reaction. Three, this call of the homer by the Padres’ radio team. The defeat and pain and anguish were palpable.
3. Here are the top 10 most-watched games of the NFL season. It’s wild to see Seattle-Denver make the cut given how unwatchable the Broncos have been, so props to the schedule-makers for making that a Week 1 matchup, when we all didn’t know better.
4. I know Tom Brady is a punching bag these days, but things are getting out of control. First, Brady is a terrible guy because he berated his offensive linemen.
But Brady also gets accused by Ben Roethlisberger of not looking like “he wanted to be out there.”
Can’t have it both ways.
5. The video of quarterback Bailey Zappe getting drafted by the Patriots earlier this year is so good.
6. I’m not going to feed my ego and brag yet again about calling for the NFL to give us a Black Friday game years ago now that it’s official. I’ll just link to this.
7. The latest Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features a conversation with radio legend Dan Le Batard.
Le Batard talks about his time at ESPN, why he had to leave the company, the ups and downs he had there over the years and the generous move ESPN made when he left. Le Batard also discusses going out on his own, why he partnered with DraftKings, having such a loyal, rabid fan base, why he hates sports debates, Stephen A. Smith’s status at ESPN and much more.
The podcast closes with the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment with Sal Licata, from WFAN and SNY in New York. This week, we discuss the MLB postseason, Bob Costas’s calling a playoff series for TBS, Davante Adams’s shoving a cameraman and Troy Aikman’s controversial comments.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
8. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: How about this for timing: The date the Yankees and Astros will play Game 1 of the ALCS (Oct. 19) is also the date in 1995 when NBC aired the Seinfeld episode when George was ordered to entertain members of the Astros’ front office and discuss interleague play.
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 Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
