ESPN was not happy with 'The Athletic' breaking news of A-Rod buying T-Wolves.
1. Tough week for Alex Rodriguez.
On Tuesday
we learned that Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards had never heard of the baseball star. This morning, Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez announced that they are officially broken up.And now we’ve learned that A-Rod angered his ESPN bosses by not giving them the scoop that he teamed up with ex-Walmart executive Marc Lore to buy the Timberwolves. In a rarity for a big NBA news story, it was originally broken by The Athletic and not Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to the New York Post, the outlet saw a text message that one ESPN exec allegedly sent to other execs on Monday. The text read: “Hi guys—we should save something for ESPN [instead of giving it to the] Athletic. ESPN mentioned to AR at [“Sunday Night Baseball”] they wish Woj had the story—obviously not our call but next round it should be.”
First off, I can’t tell you how much I love the snark and disgust in that “we should save something for ESPN instead of giving it to the Athletic” line. You can feel–as the kids say–the shade.
Secondly, given everything we know about A-Rod, his awkward personality and the things he’s done in the past, ESPN can’t be surprised when something like this happens. It hired the guy knowing exactly what it was getting. It made him the face of its baseball coverage, went out of their way to hire the play-by-play guy he wanted in Matt Vasgersian and has turned Sunday Night Baseball into The A-Rod Show. It’s hard to have any sympathy for ESPN in this situation.
Lastly, while it’s certainly strange that A-Rod wouldn’t give the sports network that he works for a heads-up that he’s about to buy an NBA team, ESPN should relax just a little bit. Woj breaks every single NBA story. The man is so prolific that Woj Bomb is an actual term that people use all the time now. ESPN can survive with another reporter breaking this story.
2. A brand-new SI Media Podcast dropped this morning and it features an interview with gambling guru Todd Fuhrman. The former Caesars Palace oddsmaker talked about the viral videos involving a fan telling Mets first baseman Pete Alonso the over/under before he homered and another fan talking gambling with Reds first baseman Joey Votto. Fuhrman also gave an overview on where we stand with legalized gambling, like which states are doing it right and which are doing it wrong. He also explained the importance of being able to shop for the best odds, which sport has benefitted the most from legalized gambling, how the NCAA Tournament and Masters fared from a betting standpoint, his best and worst losses this season, how much baseball betting has changed over the years, rules changes wreaking havoc on bettors and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
3. The responses to my question yesterday about the best sports quote of all time continue to pour in. I highlighted many of the great submissions in yesterday's Traina Thoughts, but today, I want to pay tribute to one individual.
Baseball great Rickey Henderson, who played for the A's, Yankees, Blue Jays, Padres, Angels, Mets, Mariners and Dodgers, had so many amazing quotes over the years and my followers did a great job in reminding me.
Somehow nobody submitted my all-time favorite Rickey quote. When he was with the Mets, a reporter asked him how he felt about the team firing its hitting coach, Tom Robson. Rickey responded, "Who's that?" When he was told Robson was the team's batting coach, Rickey then asked, "Oh, was that his name?"
Unfortunately, I have to be a Debbie Downer and let you all know that this quote below is made up. It's still awesome, but it is made up.
4. The great Chris (Mad Dog) Russo gave us a vintage Doggie rant on his SiriusXM show yesterday when the topic of load management and the Nets came up.
5. Mets closer Edwin Díaz has the most electric entrance in Major League Baseball.
6. Aaron Rodgers shared his notes for hosting Jeopardy! yesterday and if you look at the top Post-it, it says, "Don't pick your nose/butt." Always good advice for anyone.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date in 1993, somebody stunk up Jerry's car.
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.
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