by 1. NFL Sunday Ticket has been with DirecTV since 1994. Andrew Siciliano has hosted DirecTV’s presentation of the Red Zone channel since 2009.
Both races are over now. Google/YouTube will have full rights to NFL Sunday Ticket starting next season, and a decision has been made to only continue with one version of Red Zone. NFL Network’s Scott Hanson hosts the Red Zone channel that goes to cable providers, and that’s the version that will be available on Google/YouTube.
“On Red Zone, we’re going to focus on the Red Zone produced by NFL Media,” Dhruv Prasad, the NFL’s senior vice president, media strategy and strategic investments, told us recently Front Office Sports. “And that’s what will be available on YouTube.”
If you listen SI Media Podcast on a regular basis, or if you’re a long-time reader of Traina Thoughts, you know that Red Zone is not my cup of tea. However, I am in the minority of NFL fans. The Red Zone is hugely popular and has changed the way a significant number of people watch football.
While the DirecTV version of Red Zone is going away, there has been no official word on whether or not Siciliano will be used on the edition that will be part of Google/YouTube.
When Siciliano exited after his 18th season and 308th episode on Sunday, he gave a heartfelt message, but he didn’t say goodbye or address the status of his show.
Hanson ended his show on Sunday by calling out Siciliano and DirecTV.
Given Siciliano’s popularity and the lack of fanfare regarding his last episode, I wonder if we’ll see him contribute to the new version of Red Zone in some way. Could we see a setup where he and Hanson share duties between the 1pm and 4pm games? Or maybe they rotate weeks? Neither of these scenarios would surprise me.
2. The Lions’ social media accounts went all-in Sunday night after Detroit beat Green Bay and kept the Packers and Aaron Rodgers out of the playoffs. They made sure to remind everyone that Rodgers had said some not-so-flattering things about Detroit during the season.
And they mocked media members who gave Detroit no chance to win in Lambeau.
3. Lions running back Jamaal Williams gave the most both-ends-of-the-spectrum interview you’ll ever see after Detroit’s 20-16 win against Green Bay.
4. The Chiefs closed out the season opener on Saturday against the Raiders.
Coach Andy Reid later explained that Christmas was the inspiration behind the play.
5. The Bengals made no secret of their upset that Roger Goodell and the NFL could have potentially screwed them over with a coin flip that decided home field for their playoff game had the Ravens beaten them on Sunday. Since Cincinnati beat Baltimore, there will be no coin flip, but Bengals defensive back Eli Apple still managed to troll the commissioner.
Earlier, running back Joe Mixon celebrated a touchdown by doing his own coin flip.
6. The last SI Media Podcast has a conversation with author and reporter Jim Miller. The bulk of the discussion is about ESPN’s coverage of Damar Hamlin’s injury Monday night football and why the network deserves nothing but praise.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also see SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 45th Birthday to Chad Johnson, who once taught us a valuable lesson about Hard knocks.
Be sure to catch past issues of Traina Thoughts and check out Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy further Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
