1. We have covered Taylor Swift’s popularity among NFL players in depth.
Travis Kelce saw the Eras Tour, but his dream of meeting Swift was denied.
J.J. Watt was impressed by the Eras Tour.
Aaron Rodgers thoroughly enjoyed the Eras Tour so much that he went to two shows.
Joe Burrow said he wasn’t a Swiftie but was intrigued by the Eras Tour.
And now Swift has gotten props from an NFL legend who you might not expect to get caught up in TSwiftMania.
Bill Belichick revealed on WEEI radio Monday morning that he was at Gillette Stadium in May when Swift performed in a downpour.
And the pop star definitely left an impression on the Patriots’ coach.
“It was pretty impressive,” Belichick told Greg Hill. “She’s tough, man. She stood out there and played right through it.”
On @TheGregHillShow, Bill Belichick said he caught some of Taylor Swift's concert in the pouring rain at Gillette: "It was pretty impressive. She's tough, man. She stood out there and played right through it."
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 21, 2023
Is Belichick actually a Swiftie?
“Officially? I don’t know about that. I don’t know what officially is,” Belichick told the host. “What does that mean, like you have a sweatshirt or something?”
When asked about his favorite Swift song, Belichick came through with a classic Belichick answer.
“Well, look, I’m definitely on the, you gotta calm down,” Belichick said, referring to “You Need to Calm Down.”
“That’s pretty good, like you gotta calm down,” Belichick added. “There’s a lot of times when that’s very appropriate. You’ve just gotta calm down.”
I can’t wait to watch the Patriots the next time they’re on TV to see whether Belichick is wearing any friendship bracelets.
2. I know A LOT of you out there hate the Yankees, so this item is for you.
The Yankees are an embarrassment and, their GM, who has been here for 25 years, has a job for life for some unknown reason. The franchise hit rock bottom this weekend, getting swept at home by the Red Sox. Here’s a little compilation of how bad things have gotten for New York.
Just gonna leave this here... pic.twitter.com/lW4dVE5bxH
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) August 20, 2023
The Red Sox are 8-1 against the Yankees this season, outscoring them 54-24.
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) August 20, 2023
New York has now lost eight in a row. pic.twitter.com/R7zPJ3EUzN
AL chances of making the playoffs, per Fangraphs:
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 20, 2023
Orioles 99%
Rays 97.3%
Twins 92.8%
Rangers 87.9%
Astros 85.3%
Blue Jays 61%
Mariners 53.4%
Red Sox 14.6%
Guardians 6.0%
Tigers 1.2%
Yankees 0.9%
Angels 0.6%
A's, White Sox, Royals 0.0%
This past weekend marked the first time since April 23-25, 2004 the Red Sox didn’t trail at any point in a series of at least 3 games at Yankee Stadium.
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) August 21, 2023
3. The Phillies and Nationals played in the Little League Classic on Sunday night. In honor of the occasion, Philadelphia second baseman Bryson Stott used a bat that looked like a pencil, and it was fantastic.
Bryson Stott's No. 2 pencil bat is 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mxHakVo8vT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 21, 2023
The No. 1 bat of the Little League Classic, Bryson Stott's No. 2 pencil. pic.twitter.com/wIMECbBQ2U
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 21, 2023
4. An NBA social media staffer who recently left the company still had access to the league’s Facebook page Monday, so they decided to air some dirty laundry by posting the following:
“How do I log out of this? Haven’t worked here in weeks. Anyway, the NBA overextends it’s [sic] social media employees greatly to the detriment of their health and social lives for a salary of less than $50k annually after taxes. I worked 14 hour shifts without breaks at times. Shoutout Adam Silver. We don’t get health insurance until 90 days on the job! That’s silly isn’t it? Glad I resigned, no need for a job to get in the way of your happiness. Donate to mental health causes.”
The NBA's official Facebook account just got HACKED 😮 pic.twitter.com/s7oEXJyCIU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 21, 2023
When you’re a professional sports league making millions and millions of dollars, can you maybe not be gross and make your employees wait 90 days for health insurance?
5. The New York Times has a feature on Orioles owner John Angelos, and he briefly addressed the recent Kevin Brown controversy. From the Times:
“Angelos said the team was reviewing the internal processes that resulted in discipline for the broadcaster, Kevin Brown, who merely pointed out on air that the Orioles used to struggle mightily in road games against the Tampa Bay Rays. Angelos said he hoped that Brown would remain with the team for a long time. ’Nothing like that is going to happen again,’ he added. ‘It shouldn’t have happened once.’”
I’m not buying that.
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football and Fox NFL Kickoff.
Schrager discusses what his travel schedule is like during the season, when he has to commute from New York City to Los Angeles every weekend, what his goal is when reporting for Fox NFL Kickoff, and the huge broadcast and media changes coming to the NFL for the 2023 season.
Other topics covered include why this is set up to be a great NFL season, a sleeper MVP candidate, Netflix’s Quarterback series and much more.
Following Schrager, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss our early opinions on NFL team win total over/unders, why giving up fantasy football is a great life decision, the Blind Side controversy, the Johnny Manziel Netflix documentary and more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
