1. I’m not sure I have a bigger pet peeve in sports (and I have A LOT) than when someone compares the NFL to any other sport.
There are three main reasons why this irritates me.
First, the country as a whole is deeply invested in the NFL. Millions upon millions upon millions of people revolve every single one of their Sundays in the fall and winter around the NFL.
Two, the NFL is superior to any other sport when it comes to betting and fantasy. You can’t even compare the money bet on NFL games to other sports. This gives the league a built-in advantage over all the other leagues.
Three, the biggest reason why the NFL stands out far and above any other sports is simple: Teams play a 17-game regular season. Almost every game is significant and has an impact.
It’s the complete opposite of the regular seasons in the NBA, NHL and MLB.
I tell you all this because with the Pacers and Thunder set to face off in the NBA Finals tonight, there has been a lot written and said about the ratings challenge that ABC/ESPN will face from the two small-market teams.
Obviously, an NBA fan shouldn’t care about what the ratings are for the series. They should just enjoy the Finals, although, oddsmakers aren’t expecting there to be much to enjoy with OKC set as -750 favorites, but I digress.
However, sports is a business, and ratings are part of the business, so if this ends up being one of the lowest-rated Finals, that is newsworthy.
I would never expect NBA commissioner Adam Silver to do anything but sell his product and put a positive spin on anything related to the Finals.
However, comparing the OKC-Indiana matchup to the Super Bowl makes no sense at all.
“If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers vs. Steelers, you guys would celebrate that,” Silver said on Wednesday.
First off, to use two of the most storied franchises in the NFL as his example of small-market teams that don’t have nationwide appeal, a la the Thunder and Pacers, is just horrifically off-base.
Silver should’ve used the Jaguars and Panthers as his example.
But guess what? Approximately 100 million people would still watch a Jacksonville-Carolina Super Bowl because Super Bowl Sunday is a national holiday in this country. It’s a one-day event. Not a potential seven-game series that could drag out from June 5 to June 22. So right off the bat, Silver’s comparison makes no sense.
Here’s another reason why it makes no sense to compare the NBA to the NFL. Do you know how many people watch the Super Bowl that don’t really care about the NFL? A lot.
A great regular-season Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET NFL game will draw 25 million viewers on Fox or CBS. More than 100 million people watch the Super Bowl. That’s 75 million people watching a game they don’t give a crap about because of boxes, betting, parties, the halftime show, commercials, etc. That does not happen in the NBA. Nobody will lock in on a Thunder-Pacers game if they don’t care about the NBA (unless maybe it was the closing minutes of a Game 7).
You might get a few extra fringe fans if the Finals featured the Knicks and the Lakers because of the size of the markets and the celebrity factor. And that’s why people have pointed out that OKC-Indiana isn’t an ideal matchup from a business perspective.
I have to believe Silver knows all this and he was just trying to spin things in a positive way, but as soon as you compare your sport to the NFL, your entire point is null and void.
2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Thursday morning, and it features an interview with ABC/ESPN’s Richard Jefferson, who is set to call his first NBA Finals alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke.
Jefferson discusses whether he has any nerves about broadcasting his first Finals, the status of his contract with ESPN, how he’s changed his style since becoming a lead analyst and whether the Pacers have a chance against the Thunder.
In addition, Jefferson talks about his vices, the LeBron James-Stephen A. Smith dust-up, the NBA’s replay system, mixing it up on social media with Bill Simmons, why he likes calling blowouts, whether the NBA is rigged, working with Ian Eagle, ESPN making him button up his shirts and much more.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated’’s YouTube channel.
3. Jefferson, of course, will be sitting next to the legendary Mike Breen, who is set to call his 20th straight NBA Finals. It’s been quite a run for the outstanding play-by-play man.
4. Some ugliness over at SiriusXM on Wednesday.
The company announced that Stephen A. Smith would be taking over the 1 p.m. ET to 3 p.m. ET slot on the Mad Dog Unleashed channel beginning on Sept. 2. The only problem with that is Michelle Beadle and Cody Decker currently air in the noon ET to 3 p.m. ET window and nobody told them Smith was coming in to take the time slot.
And this all happened just a couple of hours before Beadle and Decker were set to host their show. Understandably, they were not happy.
Later Wednesday night, Smith called into a show airing on Mad Dog Unleashed to explain his hands were clean.
Listen, if you’re just an observer of sports media, you can’t deny Smith is more popular and a bigger name than Beadle and Decker. So, you can’t blame SiriusXM for making that change.
But how on earth do you not have the common courtesy to give Beadle and Decker a heads-up that they are being replaced? It’s especially bizarre that SiriusXM would let them get blindsided right before they go on the air with live, open microphones at their disposal.
5. The best story in sports media these days is the hilarious BizNasty revealing that he has gout from eating two steaks a day.
“I’ve gotten gout… I usually just do a couple steaks every night” -@BizNasty2point0 pic.twitter.com/lLNiPLdj4K
— Viva La Stool (@VivaLaStool) June 3, 2025
Ever the trooper, Paul Bissonnette made it work Wednesday night on TNT’s Stanley Cup coverage despite the injury, which he addressed as only he could.
In case you haven't heard, @BizNasty2point0 has gout 🦵 pic.twitter.com/O5HJDMDwyW
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) June 4, 2025
He’s also had some fun with this on social media.
Stop tagging me in this. https://t.co/Z0UXs8wndu
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) June 4, 2025
Perfect timing… https://t.co/GUwEVzdTL0
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) June 4, 2025
6. Some guy ran on the field during Wednesday’s Mets-Dodgers game. He had very impressive speed.
A fan just ran on the field at Dodger Stadium and interrupted the Dodgers, Mets game in the 8th inning 😳 pic.twitter.com/9IwBpgL5WD
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) June 5, 2025
SNY, of course, refused to show the video, but Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez still provided excellent commentary.
Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez narrated a Dodgers fan who ran onto the field during the eighth inning against the Mets.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 5, 2025
"When they run on the field, what's the endgame?"
"I don't what sparks them to want to do that. Obviously they're a citizen of Boracho." pic.twitter.com/TkGaRYEEbp
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It was 40 years ago today that Ferris Bueller took a day off to attend a Cubs game and get into lots of other antics.
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 Adam Silver Makes Shortsighted Mistake of Comparing NBA to NFL.
