1. With so much talk about the NBA’s ratings issues and the overall health of the league, one easy thing the league and its broadcasters can do is keep the garbage teams off national telecasts.

The Sixers are 20–37. They’ve lost eight games in a row. Joel Embiid is likely done for the season.

Stephen A. Smith destroyed Philly over the weekend and literally said, “America, you don’t give a damn about the Sixers. And neither do we.”

Well, guess which team inexplicably has two games national games this week?

That’s right—Philadelphia.

The Sixers visit the Knicks on Wednesday on ESPN and they host the Warriors Saturday on ABC.

Huh? Why? For what reason? Who on Earth wants to watch the Sixers once in a week, let alone twice?

We all talk so much about flexing the schedule in the NFL, but the NBA needs it just as much.

2. Fox is promoting its marquee Major League Baseball games for the 2025 season. The most notable broadcast that Fox will air comes on Sat., Aug. 2, when the Braves and Reds will play a game at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

3. Season 3 of Netflix’s popular golf docuseries, Full Swing, debuts today. The first episode covers Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, which featured this exchange between the golfer and one of the officers.

Officer: “I assume you’re pretty good if you’re playing in the PGA.”

Scheffler: “I’m all right, yeah.”

4. This was great. Patrick Mahomes was in the front row to watch his alma mater, Texas Tech, take on Houston on Monday night. During one of the breaks in action, a fan was brought onto the court to sink a putt from one end to the other. And Mahomes was PUMPED!

5. If you are a New York sports fan, you know how big broadcaster Al Trautwig was in this area. He worked Knicks, Rangers and Yankees game for many, many years, doing pregame, halftime and postgame shows. Trautwig set the tone for so many of the Knicks’ biggest games in the 1990s and was so damn good at it.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with The Athletic’s sports media reporter, Andrew Marchand, about the latest sports media news.

Topics covered include Fox shielding Tom Brady from interviews all season long, Joe Buck’s return to baseball to call opening day on ESPN, the battle between MLB and ESPN, MLB’s streaming problem, the possibility of Netflix getting a Sunday afternoon NFL package, and the constant talk about Stephen A. Smith possibly running for president.

Following Marchand, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment.

This week’s segment features a long discussion about Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special and the history of the show. In addition, I rant about what a cesspool Twitter has become, comments from Mets’ owner Steve Cohen and more.

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: Happy 76th birthday to the Nature Boy, Ric Flair.

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.