1. We absolutely, positively, 100% need more of this during all game telecasts.
During Wednesday’s Brewers-Cubs game, Chicago broadcasters Boog Sciambi and Jim Deshaies said on air that they would buy everyone at a bar in Iowa mozzarella sticks if Cubs pitcher Colin Rea could get Brewers catcher Willson Contreras to hit into a 6-4-3 double play with Chicago up 3-1 in the 5th inning.
The result was electric.
"MOZZARELLA STICKS FOR EVERYBODY!" 🤣
— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2025
Cubs broadcasters Boog Sciambi and Jim Deshaies said they would buy mozzarella sticks for an entire bar in Iowa if the Cubs turned a 6-4-3 double play. That is exactly what happened. 😭 pic.twitter.com/0OoimbpGNo
2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped this morning. This week’s episode is half “Traina Thoughts” and half mailbag, with WFAN’s Sal Licata joining me for the entire show.
Topics discussed include the onslaught of sports docuseries, ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer app and its best feature, preseason NFL magazines and the perils of Major League Baseball betting.
In the mailbag segment, we tackle questions about the possibility of a woman becoming a full-time NFL game analyst, UFC leaving ESPN for Paramount, Howard Stern’s future on SiriusXM, ESPN possibly buying MLB.tv, ESPN’s plan for its direct-to-consumer product, Russell Wilson vs. Jaxson Dart, the pinnacle of HBO’s Hard Knocks, Cris Collinsworth’s future with NBC, MLB realignment, my aversion to flying and whether Sal has called 911 recently.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
3. There aren’t many things sports fans love more than nostalgia. Rich Eisen’s return to SportsCenter on Monday was pure nostalgia and people clearly enjoyed it. (Of course it helped that the SportsCenter lead-in Monday was an NFL game with the Commanders and Bengals.)
Apparently this @richeisen guy has a future if he wants to host @SportsCenter
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) August 20, 2025
Eisen’s return Monday night (1st time in 20+ years) got 708,000 viewers
🔲67% above "SC" avg. this year to date for 11pm
🔲Most-viewed 11pm "SC" since mid-June
🔲Above Eisen's last "SC" in 2003 (670K)
At an ESPN event on Tuesday, it was revealed that Eisen will again host SportsCenter later this fall.
4. If the preseason is any indication, NFL fans are clamoring for football in a major way. Preseason ratings for 2025 are the highest they’ve been in 10 years.
🚨Preseason Viewership🚨
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) August 21, 2025
🏈2025 preseason-to-date avg. 2.4 million viewers -- most-watched through Week 2 since 2015
🏈@nflnetwork live preseason avg. 1.9 million viewers through Week 2 -- highest preseason-to-date on record
🏈Most-watched Preseason Week 2 on @nflnetwork &… pic.twitter.com/EWbRpLrCFu
5. Lots of WWE news on Wednesday. The company’s partnership with ESPN to air PLE’s was supposed to start in January. It will now begin Sept. 20.
In addition, Saturday Night’s Main Event will no longer air on NBC. The special, which will run four times a year, will move to Peacock exclusively.
6. I will once again ask the question I ask you guys all the time: How is getting rid of cable and cutting the cord cheaper than subscribing to every streaming service that's needed to watch sports?
Apple TV+ just increased it's monthly fee by $3 – now it's $12.99 a month. It was $6.99 a month less than two years ago.
— Rob Tornoe (@RobTornoe) August 21, 2025
The Phillies have one final game on Apple + this season: Aug. 29 against the Atlanta Braves.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Some vintage NFL Primetime as we are now just two weeks away from the start of the NFL season.
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 Cubs Announcers Come Up With Awesome Way to Spice Up Broadcast: Promise Mozzarella Sticks.
