1. Fresh off signing a four-year contract with ESPN, NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky joined this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina to talk about his new deal and many other topics.
One subject we discussed was Orlovsky, who regularly appears on Get Up!, First Take, The Pat McAfee Show and NFL Live, having recently lost out on the Sports Emmy award for Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst.
Orlovsky, who was nominated alongside Charles Barkley, Nate Burleson, Ryan Clark and Kirk Herbstreit, told Dan Patrick that he was “furious” when he lost the award to Barkley.
You never hear anyone admit that they were upset about losing any type of award, and you are always treated to the cookie-cutter, It’s just an honor to be nominated. So, I needed to get clarification from Orlovsky. Here’s how the conversation went:
Sports Illustrated: You told Dan Patrick you were furious that you lost the Sports Emmy. When I watched that clip, I didn’t know if you were being serious or if you were half-kidding. Were you legitimately furious that you lost?
Dan Orlovsky: Of course I was.
SI: You lost to Charles Barkley. Did you think you were going to win?
DO: I did.
You have to love the honesty and confidence. Orlovsky further elaborated.
“I’m a brutally honest person, so this is just me being honest,” he said. “Going into it, we were nominated for three different Emmys. The VR stuff [The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award], Best Show and then Best Analyst.
“I don’t know about the new technology thing that the VR category was into. I know it was really cool and whatnot. I have no idea really what it’s up against.
“And then Analyst and Show, everyone says Show is the hardest one to win. I don’t know if that’s a fact or not. Analyst, I was like, ‘Man, I really believe that I’ve had a strong run here. I really believe that I’ve separated myself.’ I take pride in that. I knew who I was going up against. Greats of the great. So, I was like, I feel very confident about Analyst. I really did.
“And when Charles won, I texted him and I said—I have no business having Charles Barkley’s number, by the way, but I do—so I texted and said something along the lines of ‘will you stop winning’ and he responded back with a laughing emoji face and, ‘You know it’s a team effort.’ So that one bothered me.”
While “furious” over the loss, Orlovsky was at least self-aware.
“I’ll give you a little insight into the night,” Orlovsky said. “When invites went out, I was like, I’m not gonna go. I don’t really think I’m going to win. And ESPN said, you should go. My wife was like, you should go.
“We end up going and if I go and go 0-for-3, that’s not gonna sit great with me. So, the VR category goes. Don’t win. Analyst category goes, don’t win. I immediately go to my wife, like a child, ‘I wanna go home. This is why I didn’t want to come.’
“NFL Live, everyone says it’s the hardest thing to win. It’s the last award of the night. I wanna go home. Second-to-last award of the night was Best Show that-happens-once-a-week type of thing. And College GameDay wins. Right when College GameDay wins, I’m like, ‘F’ because no way ESPN will win two in a row. So, I’m just sitting there going, ‘Well, we’re not gonna win.’
“And then we win, and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was thoroughly shocked when the show actually won. But I thought Analyst, I would have a chance, I did. And I turned into a baby.”
You can listen to the full interview with Orlovsky on SI Media With Jimmy Traina below.
2. I’m not a marketing guru, but I find it highly bizarre that Amazon Prime will begin airing the NBA this season, and the thing they’ve decided to promote on social media in the middle of July is that meaningless and useless play-in tournament.
I’d promote the fact that Amazon will have two of the best to ever do it, Ian Eagle and Kevin Harlan, calling their games.
The 2025 #EmiratesNBACup Group Draw Results 🏆
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) July 9, 2025
Cup Nights will take place every Friday from 10/31 - 11/28 on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/IUNojzwFHQ
The NBA is coming to Prime this October 24th!
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) July 9, 2025
The Emirates NBA Cup tips October 31st on Prime 🏀 pic.twitter.com/gAXItyWLg7
3. Quite the front page from the New York Post today.
Today's cover: Livvy Dunne struck out in bid to buy Babe Ruth’s NYC home after she put it on social media, ticking off co-op board: neighbor https://t.co/O3ZU1CHtpi pic.twitter.com/OBHZsFY513
— New York Post (@nypost) July 10, 2025
4. Social media is loving a clip from Netflix’s Quarterback of Kirk Cousins getting a haircut, but I need to be the Debbie Downer here.
One, Cousins is a spokesperson for the place so this is really just one big commercial.
Two, in the clip, Cousins says the following: “I go to one place. Because I can go on the app. I can see what the wait is. If the wait time is under 15 minutes, I just sign up and then I can just drive there, walk right in and get in the chair.”
I don’t want to criticize Cousins’s rationale–actually, yes, I do. You can also just make a regular appointment for a haircut, and then you don’t have to wait and can just drive there, walk right in and get in the chair.
This is awesome: Kirk Cousins uses his NFL team headshot for reference at the barbershop 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/NvH0Yh7UPf
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 9, 2025
5. The ceremonial first pitch from Wednesday’s Nationals-Cardinals game in St. Louis is a must-watch.
Ceremonial first pitch was a struggle tonight here in St Louis @Cardinals vs @Nationals @MLB pic.twitter.com/5dWFLGOqDd
— DAVID BAZZEL (@DavidBazzel) July 9, 2025
6. The contestants on last night’s Jeopardy! struggled when it came to NFL scoring on a specific play.
Nerds. pic.twitter.com/2rqQfLepOE
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 10, 2025
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: This will only appeal to old people like me, but it was 35 years ago today that Andrew Dice Clay appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show and cut a tearful promo to help improve his image. This was a BIG deal at the time.
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 Dan Orlovsky Reveals He Was ‘Furious’ After Losing Emmy to Charles Barkley.
