1. Syracuse’s Buddy Boehim took a cheap shot at Florida State’s Wyatt Wilkes during Wednesday’s ACC tournament opener.
Shortly after the game, the conference announced it was suspending Boeheim for one game.
However, Jim Boehim, Buddy’s dad and Syracuse’s coach, basically tried to yadda yadda yadda the whole thing in his postgame press conference.
Since we now live in a time when people tell you that what you actually see and hear didn’t happen, Jim insisted there wasn’t a punch, that Buddy just moved his hand and any contact was inadvertent.
However, one reporter wasn’t having it. Coming in hot at the 40-second mark of this video, the reporter, who I unfortunately could not identify despite trying hard to find out who he was this morning, said, “Coach, I’m watching it right here. It’s on ESPN and it’s being shared all over social media. He punched him in his stomach. It wasn’t inadvertent.”
This caused Boeheim to get salty and channel his inner 12-year-old. “Whatever you say, whatever you say,” Boeheim told the reporter.
“Well, good. You say it. I just gave you my version of what I saw, O.K.? Can we disagree? I don’t have to agree with you, right?”
NO! YOU CAN’T DISAGREE.
The fact is that Buddy punched Wilkes in the stomach. There’s no disagreeing. You can’t just wave off a fact and then say, “We just disagree.”
Hey, we’re in the month of March. Can we disagree on that?
Two plus two is four? Can we disagree on that?
Alex Rodriguez is a terrible baseball broadcaster. Can we disagree on that?
No, you can’t disagree on any of those things, just like Boeheim couldn’t disagree that his son punched another kid.
Props to that reporter for not letting Boehim get away with his nonsense and making Boehim further embarrass himself.
2. I wonder whether Roger Goodell will make a phone call to ESPN after Chris “Mad Dog” Russo went on the air yesterday and said Goodell participates in office pools. On a side note, it was also nice to see Dog on the right side of the Calvin Ridley issue.
3. It’s always fun to check in on our old friend BizNasty to see how he’s doing on TNT’s new studio show.
How Biz made it this long without cursing on air is a miracle.
4. Sometimes in life, you just need to hear Bill Walton ramble for a minute about things you’ll never understand.
5. Last week, Pat Sajak scolded fans for mocking contestants who flubbed a puzzle. This week, Sajak is catching heat for being rude to a contestant. Life comes at you fast on those Wheel of Fortune streets.
6. A brand new SI Media Podcast will drop this afternoon with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo from SiriusXM. Subscribe to the podcast to have it delivered to the listening app of your choosing—on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher—so you can get it as soon as it’s posted.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: The NCAA tournament is just one week away. As always, the best way to prep for it is by listening to Gus Johnson’s best calls.
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 Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
