Episode 341 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features an interview with WWE superstar, Edge. The man, also known as, Adam Copeland talks about his upcoming WrestleMania main event match with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. Did he ever think he'd headline a WrestleMania when he retired from the company in 2011 after a very serious neck injury? Did he think he'd ever main event WrestleMania when he returned to the WWE at the 2020 Royal Rumble? Can he properly explain what that reaction from fans at the Rumble was like for him? Other topics we discussed include Edge's feeling on his best friend Christian/Jay Reso, leaving WWE for AEW, his reaction to the Undertaker saying today's wrestlers are soft, the key to a character mixing humor with good in-ring wrestling, the match he wish he had, how he feels about his "live sex show" today and much more.

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Episode 340 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. The "SportsCenter" host talks about his popular "Bad Beats" segment and gives us the inside details on how the feature is put together by producers. He also talks about ad libbing the segment, the importance of Stanford Steve to the bit and the bizarre bond that gamblers have with one another. Van Pelt also discusses Roger Goodell's recent comments about the NFL possibly embracing gambling content, his appearance on Jason Sudiekis' show, "Ted Lasso," the problem these days with podcasts, what it's been like to host "SportsCenter" over the past year during the pandemic, his own battle with Covid-19 and the lingering effects he still feels four months after testing positive and much more.

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Episode 339 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features an interview with Austin Karp, the Managing Editor at "Sports Business Journal." During the conversation, we discuss the NFL's expected television deals and what changes we will potentially see, such as flex scheduling for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" and who will carry "Thursday Night Football." We also talked about college basketball taking a big ratings hit this season and whether the NCAA Tournament can reverse that trend, why ESPN spent so much money on reacquiring the NHL, why the WWE-Peacock deal is a win-win for both parties, why Oprah Winfrey drew a big rating for her special with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, why the Grammy Awards suffered their lowest rating ever and now we are becoming a streaming world faster and faster each day.

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Episode 338 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features two guests.

First up is ESPN play-by-play man, Ryan Ruocco, who was calling the Nuggets-Mavericks game on March 11, 2020 when the NBA announced that the season would be suspended because of Covid-19. Ruocco talks about what that experience was like, how his mindset about Covid changed from that night until now, whether he'd be comfortable calling games in full arenas, whether he ever got used to calling games from home and much more.

Following Ruocco, Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent joins the podcast to discuss how the media has covered Covid, what the media has done well and not so well, what the media's responsibilities are in reporting about Covid vaccines, did he ever expect a pandemic to become so political, what it's like to cover media while working for a media company, the cable news wars and much more.

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The guest on Episode 337 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio explains why gambling is a major factor in the NFL going to a 17-game regular season and why he expects the league to eventually go to an 18-game regular season. Does the 17th regular season game mean we're going to finally get a Super Bowl during President's Day Weekend? Florio shares his thoughts on that topic and also talks about other scheduling changes we could see with the NFL. Other topics discussed on this episode include the TV rights deals that the NFL is about to close with its broadcast partners, why the league was able to get such a huge rights fee increase and what's going on with Sunday Ticket. We also talk about how the offseason has become bigger than the regular season when it comes to people's interest in the league, clickbait stories and much more.

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Episode 336 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features two interviews. First up is Bryan Curtis, Editor-At-Large for The Ringer.

Curtis talks about a recent article he wrote that connect Brent Musburger's firing from CBS in 1990, which elevated Jim Nantz as the network's lead voice, to Nantz's current contract situation with CBS. Curtis also discusses the NFL asking networks for a 100 percent rights fee increase on their TV deals, why announcers don't matter as much as we think and much more.

Following Curtis, Alan Sepinwall, the cheif TV critic for 'Rolling Stone" joins the podcast to share some television recommendations for listeners. In addition, Sepinwall and Traina discuss "Your Honor," "Ted Lasso," "Young Rock" and "Schitt's Creek." Sepinwall also shares his thoughts on this week's Golden Globe Awards and gives us her personal picks for some of the categories. Lastly, Sepinwall, who wrote the book, "The Sopranos Sessions" talks about how many people watched the smash HBO show for the first time during the pandemic.

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The guest on Episode 335 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is Darren Rovell, the Senior Executive Producer for the Action Network. The main focus of the episode is the explosion in the trading cards business. From why the boom happened, whether it will last to the process of getting cards graded and selling them for profit, Rovell goes in-depth on explaining many of the aspects of the current trading card craze. He also explains that people are buying and selling more than cards. Game tickets, VCR tapes and checks are also in high demand. In addition to discussing the trading card world, Rovell and Traina also talk about the Super Bowl streaker who claims he won $375,000 on a $50,000 bet and the possibility of Twitter adding a pay service.

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The guest on episode 334 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is NFL columnist Kevin Clark from The Ringer. Clark, who also appears on podcasts and hosts the video show, "Slow News Day," talks about the Super Bowl's lackluster ratings and why the league is having a long-time issue with the 18-49 crowd. Clark also discusses how sports fan's viewing habits have changed during the pandemic and how they may change after the pandemic. In addition, Clark shares insights into his writing process, reveals what makes a good story and explains why NFL training camps are so important to him. He also gives us the behind-the-scenes story on transitioning to podcasting and the genesis of "Slow News Day." Other topics talked about include Aaron Rodgers relationship with the media, the best concerts to see at low capacity and more.

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In honor of Super Bowl Week, Episode 333 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina features a roundtable discussion with Erin Andrews from Fox Sports and Kyle Brandt from the NFL Network's "Good Morning Football." Andrews explains why this week is like Christmas, while Brandt explains why this week is a drag. The duo also talk about how weird it is to not be in Tampa for the Big Game, andTom Brady looking younger than ever. We also discuss the best halftime shows of all time, who we'd want to see perform at halftime of next year's Super Bowl, some of the fun prop bets being offered on the game and whether the Super Bowl should be played on Saturdays or the Sunday of President's Day weekend. Other topics covered include boy bands, favorite alcoholic beverages, reality shows and much more.

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The guest on Episode 332 of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" hosted by Jimmy Traina is WWE superstar, Roman Reigns. The WWE Universal champion pulled no punches in responding to recent claims made by The Undertaker and Bill Goldberg that today's WWE wrestlers are "soft." Reigns also explains why he thinks the superstars of today have it tougher than those who performed during the company's "Attitude Era." Reigns also discussed his long-awaited heel turn and how that has gone for him, why this WrestleMania may not be right for a match against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and whether he has any concerns about performing in front of fans at WrestleMania during the pandemic. The man known as "The Head of the Table" also talks about what it's like to be the father of not one, but two sets of twins, gives a Bucs-Chiefs Super Bowl prediction

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