1. Few people in sports talk radio have as much credibility as Dan Patrick, thanks to his lengthy tenure and successful career. So, when Patrick talks about the sports talk radio business, it means something.
During an appearance this week on Pardon My Take, Patrick summed up the sad state of sports talk radio in 2025.
According to Patrick, how many people listen to your show isn’t nearly as important as going viral and clips.
“I never really looked at, like [Pat] McAfee with YouTube,” said Patrick. “Those numbers, that's really all that matters. And I've been with terrestrial radio all my life and you keep thinking of those ratings, those ratings, those ratings.
“Now? Nobody cares about that. They care about social media, what went viral, the number of people watching clips. And that's what you guys have been able to do. McAfee’s been able to do that, as well.”
When PFT asked Patrick about how radio ratings even work, Patrick gave a blunt assessment.
“I still don’t even know,” answered Patrick. “They just tell me. Like, one day they’re going to say, ‘Hey, come here, bring your playbook, you’re done.’ And it could be something random like that.
“We’ll be in a market and they’ll go, ‘You're killing it, but they want to go local.’ And I’ll go, ‘What does that mean?’ So then you're not in an affiliate in Portland, Maine. Meanwhile, you thought you were doing great in Portland, Maine.
“So, I don’t like being beholden to that because, face it, you have a lot of people who are in radio who are your bosses who probably haven’t done radio. I think it’s unfair sometimes when they project to what you should be doing or why aren’t you doing or why didn’t you ask. When you’'re in the chair and they’re live bullets, it’s just different.”
It’s not shock to hear that everything today is about going viral and short social media clips, but that doesn’t mean that it’s still not incredibly depressing.
Maybe it’s because I grew up on Mike and the Mad Dog, and back then, there was no such thing as going viral and YouTube clips, but back then, you knew their show was authentic. Today, hardly anything seems authentic.
2. The Giants beat the Phillies Tuesday night on a three-run, walk-off, inside-the-park home run by catcher Patrick Bailey. That’s right. A three-run, walk-off, inside-the-park home run.
After seeing the clip, I immediately had to search for the local radio call. Here is the pure electricness (I don’t even know if that’s a word) from San Francisco’s Dave Flemming.
"This one iiiiisssss.... OFF THE THE TOP OF THE WALL ... AND IT RICOCHETS! AND IT'S ROLLING ON THE WARNING TRACK ... "
— KNBR (@KNBR) July 9, 2025
ALL-TIMER of a Dave Flemming call on THE Sports Leader. pic.twitter.com/OwOS2kVoWf
Here’s how things sounded on the television side.
PATRICK BAILEY
— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2025
WALK-OFF INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN@SFGIANTS WIN! pic.twitter.com/xwswjv2fLP
3. Major League Baseball is enjoying a nice ratings bump this season.
Fox’s Saturday night games are up 34% from last season. The network drew 2.5 million viewers for Saturday’s Astros-Dodgers game.
Meanwhile, Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN is up 11% from last year.
4. For as long as I’ve written this column, I have said what makes baseball great is that you are always seeing things you had never seen before, no matter how long you’ve watched the sport.
That brings me to last night’s Norfolk Tides-Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (a real team name, apparently) Triple A game in which the Shrimp scored a run on a balk caused by the Tides pitcher getting scared out of his wits from a bolt of thunder.
Alright... we don't even know what to say about this. Mother nature and the @JaxShrimp are in cahoots!#SCNotTop10 pic.twitter.com/TZjMZh6ymq
— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) July 8, 2025
5. This was good stuff from Netflix’s Quarterback. Cameras and mics caught Joe Burrow unleashing a string of f-bombs and going at it a little bit with coach Zac Taylor after the team played sloppy in a 37–27 win against the Titans.
Here is the clip from Netflix 'Quarterback' where Joe Burrow vents at the end of the Titans game.#Bengalspic.twitter.com/aQlJkuN5cB
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) July 8, 2025
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap.
Schaap talks about ESPN’s upcoming E60, Southpaw–The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott, which covers the career of the pitcher born without a right hand who threw a no-hitter as a Yankee. Schaap also discusses another great E60 that he worked on, The Great Imposter, about the life of Barry Bremen, who was known for sneaking into various sporting events.
Other topics discussed with Schaap include his famous interview with Bobby Knight, whether he's ever come close to leaving ESPN, the story he missed out on that hurts the most, the state of journalism in 2025, hosting the hot dog eating contest and much more.
Following Schaap, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment. This week, we discuss the new price for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, the "torpedo bats" discussion completely going away, celebrity encounters 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: Happy 69th birthday to the great Tom Hanks.
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 Patrick Says Sports Talk Radio Is All About Going Viral.
