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Traina Thoughts: Jay Onrait Unleashes on Chris Broussard and Hot Take Shows
1. But how do you really feel, Jay Onrait?
The current host of SC with Jay and Dan on Canada's TSN and former host of FS1's Fox Sports Live, pulled no punches on the most recent edition of The Jay and Dan Podcast when it came to calliing out NBA "insiders" for providing a steady stream of bad information. Onrait called out Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and daytime hot take shows, but he saved his biggest daggers for former FOX colleague Chris Broussard.
Broussard famously tweeted that the Clippers were out of the Kawhi Leonard running and that the superstar wanted to sign with the Lakers two days before Leonard joined the Clippers. This led to Onrait calling Broussard, "the biggest f-cking fraud in the history of sports media, ever," on his podcast.
Here, via Awful Announcing, is Onrait's full takedown:
"Kawhi’s so secretive, everyone knows he’s secretive, no one’s expecting any information to come out from him. So I just have to assume that everyone was f-cking lying! Everyone knew nothing, nothing! And they were saying that they knew everything! Chris Broussard, who worked at Fox and is the biggest f-cking fraud in the history of sports media, ever, ESPN kicked him out, Fox kicked him out, I don’t know what he’s doing now, saying that the Clippers were out of it for sure and it was down to the Lakers and Raptors, he knew nothing! They knew nothing! It’s all bullsh-t!
"And I know it’s all bullsh-t. I get it. All those shows in the daytime, First Take, and again, I like all those people personally, I like them all, and I understand why they’re doing those shows. It works, it gets numbers, people like them, it’s entertaining. I’m not criticizing that side of it. I’m just saying if anyone in the history of the world takes anything the daytime guys say seriously, and I’m including Stephen A. in this, I know Stephen A. has a lot of connections, but he said a lot of stuff that’s completely 100 percent f-cking false…if anyone tells me ‘Stephen A. said something’ or ‘Max Kellerman said something,’ no! It’s all bullsh-t! No one knows anything! And they should have known that Kawhi was the kind of person that this would backfire on them about!”
It's hard to argue with anything Onrait said (although he was incorrect about Fox kicking out Broussard; he still works for FS1). But Onrait is in the media business, so he gets the game. It's a shame viewers and the general public don't understand that the hot take shows are garbage.
And as I've written in Traina Thoughts many times, Broussard "confirming" that LeBron was going back to the Cavaliers after LeBron announced it himself via a first-person story on SI.com, will always be the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen from a person in sports media.
2. The issue of reporting on NBA free agency and separating reporting from opining was a huge topic on a brand new SI Media Podcast with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. The NBA senior writer talked to me about her process and how she goes about getting scoops. Shelburne also revealed that Kawhi Leonard's camp was unhappy with her, so it made it harder for her to get information on where he'd sign. Other topics on the podcast include how careful reporters need to be about sourcing, why there was so much wrong information about Leonard’s future, how the Paul George trade to the Clippers stayed quiet, issues Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will have in New York, people wanting to see LeBron James’s demise, Ronda Rousey’s WWE future, and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play.
3. We now bring to you a Tale of Two Gronks. It was all fun and dancing for the former Pats tight end....
....until he had to take some pics that, judging by the TREMENDOUS look on his face, he clearly did not want to take.
4. Andrew McCutchen didn't make the All-Star team, but his wife gave him his own All-Star Game in their house.
5. Becky Lynch's big year continues. The WWE women's champion appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's "Blockbuster" issue.
6. Seriously, someone check in on Danny Amendola.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: Rip Torn, who passed away Tuesday night, was a total powerhouse on HBO's awesome The Larry Sanders Show and he doesn't get enough credit for his portrayal of a truly great character. RIP.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: MLB needs to stop teasing us by mic'ing up players for the All-Star Game and do it for every regular season game.
