1. Before Game 4 between the Knicks and Pacers, Indianapolis legend Pat McAfee got on the arena microphone to hype up the home crowd.
Given that McAfee works in the WWE, he knew just how to cut the promo, allowing time for the crowd to vociferously boo every name of Knicks fans that he mentioned. Here’s what McAfee said/yelled:
“Indianapolis, Indiana, we got some bigwigs from the big city in the building. Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothée Chalamet is here. Let’s send these sons of b-----s back to New York.”
It appears that Stiller, however, did not appreciate name drop, responding to someone on Twitter who posted the video by saying. “Yes. Weird. We were happy to be there and cheer our team and other than that Indy fans were awesome.”
Yes. Weird. We were happy to be there and cheer our team and other than that Indy fans were awesome.👏 #KNICKSIN7
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) May 28, 2025
When a follower told Stiller that it was all in good fun and not malicious, Stiller replied, “Appreciate that. Just wouldn’t happen in N.Y.”
Appreciate that. Just wouldn’t not happen in NY.
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) May 28, 2025
Listen, I don’t want to use my platform to say anything negative about Ben Stiller because who doesn’t love Meet the Parents, Dodgeball, the underrated Starsky & Hutch, the basketball scenes in Along Came Polly, and of course, his run on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
However, I gotta call it like I see it. To say, “Just wouldn’t happen in N.Y.” about a hype speech is a little hard to stomach when Knicks fans outside of Madison Square Garden just accosted Brian Windhorst last week.
McAfee’s hype speech was harmless. And as a New Yorker, I can assure you that “Just wouldn’t happen in N.Y." should never, ever, ever be uttered in defense of anything.
2. With the Pacers taking a 3–1 series lead against the Knicks last night, Thursday could see two endings.
New York’s season will come to a close if Indiana can win in Madison Square Garden and TNT’s run of airing the NBA for 36 years will also come to a conclusion.
While TNT will no longer carry NBA games once the Eastern Conference Finals is completed, Inside the NBA will live on. Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal will remain together, and TNT will continue to produce the show with the one difference being that it will air on ESPN/ABC.
The full details about when Inside the NBA will air on ESPN haven’t been officially announced, but ESPN president, Burke Magnus, did tell me back in November on SI Media With Jimmy Traina, that the show would likely run on Fridays or Saturdays.
The future of Inside the NBA was unknown for a period of time before the unique ESPN deal happened. TNT captured the moment shortly after news broke that the show would live on, with Johnson eloquently and powerfully addressing his colleagues.
With only days remaining in TNT’s partnership with the NBA, Inside the NBA has dropped that video of Johnson’s speech as well as a couple of others that pay homage to the show.
"They can't get rid of us."
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 28, 2025
Our first moment together after we found out Inside the NBA will live on pic.twitter.com/nmn1iS3x59
Just another day in Studio J 😭 https://t.co/Souwd7pRA2 pic.twitter.com/dnVgEhhdXv
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 28, 2025
3. Here is some crazy audio of the Abbotsford Canucks’ play-by-play guy, Brandon Astle, calling the action during an AHL playoff game as someone enters the broadcast booth and throws a chair at him.
The announcer for the Abbotsford Canucks got attacked by a fan mid-game broadcast and the fan allegedly threw a chair at him 😳
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 27, 2025
(h/t AggPuck-303/reddit) pic.twitter.com/qYyxShhriB
After initially being stunned, and rightfully so, Astle was able to make light of the disturbing situation.
Me going into the 2nd period pic.twitter.com/iwBr7pCn27
— Brandon Astle (@brandon_astle) May 26, 2025
I could have handled this better, but was in shock & fired up as you can tell, as that has never happened to me before…I know that one yahoo does not reflect the Eagles organization or their fans & apparently was found and kicked out https://t.co/nWlE4S9Gpq
— Brandon Astle (@brandon_astle) May 27, 2025
4. Chris “Mad Dog” Russo took a solid shot at Stephen A. Smith when the power went out during Wednesday’s First Take.
“If they didn’t pay Stephen A $400 million, maybe they can pay the freakin bill.”
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) May 28, 2025
- Mad Dog after the power does out during First Take. pic.twitter.com/YlVFGF6mJf
5. I’ll never understand how anyone could be against Major League Baseball having a salary cap.
The payroll of the Dodgers' 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 ($102M) is more than the total payroll of six teams (Guardians, Rays, Pirates, Athletics, Marlins, White Sox) 🤯
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 28, 2025
H/T @spotrac pic.twitter.com/JBH9O47mkd
6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN’s Tony Reali.
Reali talks about the end of Around the Horn after hosting the show for 23 years, the vagueness from ESPN about the show’s cancellation despite strong ratings, his contract status with ESPN, whether he has had talks about staying with the network and what his future looks like.
In addition, Reali reveals one regret he had while hosting the show, whether he thinks his reluctance to do interviews and social media hurt him, what he plans on doing during his time off, making a personal connection with fans of ATH and much more.
Following Reali, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the Knicks-Pacers Eastern Conference finals, what NBA Finals matchup ESPN/ABC wants, the Juan Soto fallout from the Subway Series, Netflix’s new documentary on Brett Favre, George Wendt’s passing and a dilemma over free Knicks tickets.
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.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Remember that gorilla, Harambe, who was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo because a three-year-old boy had gotten into his enclosure? Tuesday was the nine-year anniversary of the incident. The entire story led to one of Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s greatest rants in his entire career.
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 It Appears Ben Stiller Did Not Appreciate Pat McAfee’s Hype Speech at Pacers-Knicks.
