1. Thank you, Michael Wilbon.

From the very bottom of my heart, thank you.

During Monday’s TCU-North Carolina game, I posted this:

Clearly, I was not the only person who couldn’t stomach what Fox and ESPN did this past weekend in hyping their games, because Wilbon shared similar thoughts on Tuesday’s Pardon the Interruption.

“I don’t want mass media, major media, networks, including people that we like to call our friends, to just ruin the watching of college football for me, the consumption of college football, by EXAGGERATING THE HELL OUT OF EVERYTHING,” Wilbon said. “By overstating everything.”

“Arch Manning is not Peyton or Eli or Archie, just yet. Just let him simmer a little bit. Jeremiah Smith, he is not Jerry Rice just yet. I heard somebody, who I probably like a lot, probably somebody I covered, say ‘He’s the best college football player I’ve ever seen.’ You know what my recommendation would be? Then watch more college football over the last 50 years. Because he ain’t the best I’ve seen.

“Can we just stop. The greatest weekend of... all of it was just slobbered over.”

While I commend Wilbon for calling out Fox’s ridiculous coverage of the Texas-Ohio State game, it would’ve been nice if he mentioned his own network making the TCU-North Carolina game borderline unwatchable. The game was basically a Bill Belichick 30 for 30 until everyone realized there was another team on the field, and TCU kicked the crap out of North Carolina.

I can justify ESPN’s absurd hype for TCU-North Carolina more than what Fox did for Texas-Ohio State because at least ESPN’s game featured the greatest coach in NFL history making his college football debut. I get why ESPN did what it did with this coverage, but it still would’ve been nice if just one person with some power would’ve said, “Guys, we’re going waaaaay over the top here.”

Fox, though, was just pathetic with the Arch Manning hype and the hype for the actual game. Joel Klatt would’ve had you believe he was calling the national championship game. Fox tried to sell you that it was the biggest game of the season. How could it be the biggest game of the season when 1) It’s Week 1. and 2) Both teams, barring a catastrophe, are going to make the playoff?

It got to the point where Fox’s coverage felt so disingenuous. It was very used car salesman-like.

But this is what sports television is now. Make everything a spectacle and do what you can to bring in the fringe viewer. This has been the strategy for the Super Bowl forever, but now networks have adopted this philosophy for regular season games.

The legitimate college football fan is going to watch Texas-Ohio State no matter what. That means Fox needs to bring in the folks who aren’t die-hards, who watch week in and week out. That means having no shame and making the game out to be the most important thing on earth.

The problem with this, which networks don’t care about, is that it turns off and frustrates the regular viewer. And Michael Wilbon.

2. Charles Barkley has done yet another interview in which he rips TNT and throws cold water on the Inside the NBA-ESPN deal.

During an interview with Bill Simmons, The Ringer founder host asked Barkley if ESPN was going to give the Inside the NBA crew ample time to do their thing after a game.

“We don’t know,” Barkley revealed. “This has been one of the worst … TNT sucks, to be honest with you, Bill. They made this deal. They haven’t told us when we’re gonna work. They haven’t told us how it’s gonna work.

“We’ve been talking behind the scenes like, after the game, are we gonna get any time or are they gonna say, ‘Hey, you guys gotta go to SportsCenter.’”

Barkley added, “That’s the best part of our show. After the game when we can have conversation and have fun. Are they gonna say you guys got three minutes, five minutes, 15, 20, 30, 45? Are we gonna go straight to SportsCenter. They haven’t given us an answer whatsoever.”

A couple of things here. I think you'll mostly see Inside the NBA on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, which would help the SportsCenter problem. I also think you will see ESPN let Inside the NBA continue on one of its other outlets, whether it’s ESPN2 or its app, on nights they go to SportsCenter quickly after a game.

3. This is a great breakdown from former Major League pitcher Dallas Braden on Astros hurler Framber Valdez apparently getting frustrated with his catcher, César Salazar, and then intentionally heaving an unexpected fastball at him.

4. If you’re a ManningCast fan, you will be getting 12 episodes of Peyton and Eli this season. In past years, they did 11 shows. The brothers’ schedule this season will also include shows from Week 8 through Week 13. Here’s the full ManningCast slate.

5. When the Chargers play the Chiefs on Friday night, it will be the last Friday night opening week game for the NFL for a little while.

The league said on Tuesday that there won’t be a Friday night Week 1 game next season because federal law prohibits it. The NFL was able to have a Friday game this year and last year because Labor Day fell so early in September. But when Week 1 gets pushed to the second week in September next season, the NFL won’t be allowed to play on Friday.

In what is a completely dumb and antiquated rule, an antitrust provision in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 bans broadcasts of the NFL from any Friday or Saturday from the second Friday in September through the second Saturday in December.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with legendary broadcaster Brent Musburger.

Musburger talks about finally making the Hall of Fame after winning the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, his appearance on NBC at the Hall of Fame Game and his upcoming appearance on CBS’s The NFL Today in Week 3, where the show will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a throwback edition.

In addition, Musburger shares stories about getting in a fight with Jimmy The Greek, getting scolded by ESPN for betting references, the status of Las Vegas as a tourist attraction, how he will spend the first NFL Sunday and much more.

Following Musburger, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the YouTubeTV-Fox carriage dispute, a great TikTok video of a guy complaining about streaming, Lee Corso’s final episode of College GameDay, Major League Baseball’s broadcast future, the end of summer and the NFL’s return and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since Howard Stern is in the news so much these days with speculation running wild about the future of his SiriusXM radio show, I thought this could be a good day to remember one of the all-time great prank calls in the show’s history.

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 X and Instagram.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fox, ESPN Made College Football Unwatchable Last Weekend.