Also on Traina’s Mind: Lions’ social media mocks Aaron Rodgers, media; Jamaal Williams’ wild postgame interview; Chiefs go full merry-go-round and more.
1. NFL Sunday Ticket has been with DirecTV since 1994. Andrew Siciliano has hosted DirecTV’s presentation of the Red Zone channel since 2009.
Both are running now. Google/YouTube will have full rights to NFL Sunday Ticket starting next season, and the decision has been made to continue only one version of the Red Zone. NFL Network’s Scott Hanson hosts the Red Zone channel that goes to cable providers, and that version will be available on Google / YouTube.
“In the Red Zone, we are going to focus on the Red Zone produced by NFL Media,” Dhruv Prasad, NFL senior vice president, media strategy & amp; strategic investment, recently told the future of Sports Sports. “And that’s what will be available on YouTube.”
If you listen to the SI Media Podcast regularly or if you’ve been reading Traina’s Thoughts for a while, you know that the Red Zone is not my cup of tea. However, I am in the minority of NFL fans. The Red Zone is very popular and has changed the way a large number of people watch football.
While DirecTV’s version of Red Zone will be discontinued, there is no official word yet on whether Siciliano will be working on the edition that will be part of Google/YouTube.
When Siciliano signed off after his 18th season and 308th episode on Sunday, he gave a heartfelt message but didn’t say goodbye or address the show’s status.
Hanson closed his show on Sunday by giving a shout-out to Siciliano and DirecTV.
Given Siciliano’s popularity and the lack of fanfare surrounding his final episode, I wonder if we’ll see him contribute to the new version of Red Zone in some way. Can we see a set up where he and Hanson split the task between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. game? Or maybe they play the week? Neither of those scenarios would surprise me.
2. The Lions’ social media account went all-in Sunday night after Detroit beat Green Bay and kept the Packers and Aaron Rodgers out of the playoffs. They made sure to remind everyone that Rodgers said some unpleasant things about Detroit during the season.
And they mocked members of the media who gave Detroit no chance to win at Lambeau.
3. Lions’ running back Jamaal Williams gave the most both ends-of-the-spectrum postgame interview you will ever see after Detroit’s 20-16 win against Green Bay.
4. The Chiefs busted out of season play on Saturday against the Raiders.
Coach Andy Reid later explained that Christmas was the inspiration for the play.
5. The Bengals made no secret about being upset that Roger Goodell and the NFL could have potentially screwed them over by flipping a coin to decide the home field for their playoff game had the Ravens beat them on Sunday. Since Cincinnati beat Baltimore, there won’t be a coin flip, but Bengals defensive back Eli Apple is still making sure to troll the commissioner.
Earlier, running back Joe Mixon celebrated a touchdown by doing his own coin flip.
6. The latest Media Podcast features a conversation with author and reporter Jim Miller. Most of the discussion was about ESPN’s coverage of Damar Hamlin’s injury on Monday Night Football and why the network didn’t deserve the credit.
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.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 45th birthday to Chad Johnson, who once taught a valuable lesson on Hard Knocks.
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.
