Traina Thoughts: NFL Network's Michael Silver Calls Baker Mayfield 'Unprofessional,' Gets Called Out By Rich Eisen

NFL Network's Michael Silver calls Baker Mayfield 'unprofessional,' gets called out by Rich Eisen.

1. Remember last week when people were up in arms over Jessica Mendoza's new "conflict of interest" because she took a job with the Mets while still working for ESPN and I wrote that it wasn't a big deal because every single person in sports media has conflicts of interest?

Here's the perfect example to back up my point. On the NFL Network Wednesday, Michael Silver bizarrely called out Baker Mayfield for being "unprofessional" and needing to "grow up." However, Silver's colleague, Rich Eisen, wasn't having it and alerted everyone to the fact that Silver is tight with former Browns head coach, Hue Jackson, the man who kept Mayfield on the bench so he could start Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.

"I would argue that the quarterback needs to grow up and that somebody in that organization needs to tell him what it's like to be a professonal, so I'll just put that out there."

Eisen than asked, "Is Hue around here?" before getting up and looking around for the guy who went 11-44-1 as Browns coach.

While Eisen did a great job of tweaking Silver in a friendly that also let viewers know Silver was not objective in his comments about Mayfield, it would've been nice if someone on the set asked Silver to name one instance -- aside from Mayfield staring down Jackson after a game -- in which Mayfield was unprofessional. Just one. Was Mayfield ever late for a practice? Did he have any confrontations with teammates? Did he not work hard? 

If you're going to throw around the word "unprofessional," you better come with examples other than Mayfield running down the field while looking back at Jackson, because that's not going to cut it.

2. The newest SI Media Podcast is out. The first portion of the show is a sports media chat with New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand. We got into a heated argument about FOX's new college football pregame show and Urban Meyer. Other topics discussed: Stephen A. Smith's various blunders, CBS/Turner announcers for the NCAA Tournament Show and the change to the Selection Show, Turner's plan to phase out Marv Albert on NBA coverage and much more.

At the 37-minute mark of the podcast, WWE superstar Roman Reigns joins the show to talk about his return to the WWE after battling leukemia, what he did during his time away from the ring, how he plans on changing his character, working with The Rock on a new movie and more.

You can listen to the podcast below or on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play.

3. In Day 2 of the post-Odell Beckham Era in the Big Apple, the New York Post came to play.

4. Speaking of Beckham, Game of Thrones author, George R.R. Martin had some very strong thoughts about the Giants shipping the wideout off to Cleveland, which in turn hit a nerve with some GoT fans.

5. Boogie Cousins throwing a pass last night to Steph Curry, WHO WAS OUT OF THE GAME might be the NBA highlight of the year.

6. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: A lot of people have been referencing the great movie, Back to School, since the college admissions scandal broke a couple of days ago, so let's remember this great scene.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustarted Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina. You can also follow on Twitter and Instagram.

IN CLOSING: I'm all in on the new MLB rule for 2020 in which all relievers must face a minimum of three batters. Baseball needs to change something up. This is a good twist.