1. On Thursday’s edition of College GameDay, airing before the Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame, Lee Corso put a different spin on his famous bit where he dons a mascot head to pick the game.

Corso, who picked the Irish to win the College Football Playoff semifinal, dressed as a Leprechaun and did a little dance. At one point, Corso danced into a prop on the set that he didn’t see because it was behind him and stumbled. He never went down thanks to another Leprechaun who was there to catch Corso.

However, the coverage that came out of this was awfully disingenuous. There was an attempt to spin this as Corso fell because of his age and diminished health.

If you watch the video, though, Corso was moving just fine. He was actually doing a great job cutting a rug. He only tumbled because he stepped on the helmet prop behind him. He didn’t “fall” because he had trouble staying on his feet.

Corso is 89 years old. It is oftentimes hard to watch him struggle to speak on GameDay. I hate saying that, but it’s the truth.

It’s already a delicate situation with Corso. He didn’t need headlines about “falling” on set without the context of what really happened because all the people that saw those headlines without seeing the video think Corso can’t stand on his own two feet.

If you’re of the opinion that ESPN should help Corso ease into retirement, I have zero issues with that take. It’s 100% fair. But let’s not exaggerate or embellish Corso’s issues.

As for Corso’s future on GameDay, here’s what ESPN president Burke Magnus told me during an appearance on SI Media With Jimmy Traina back in November:

“Listen, I think we’re going to do what we’ve done now for a couple of years running, which is, we’re going to have a conversation with him after the season, see where things are,” Magnus said. “He’s a special guy. He’s one of the nicest men any of your listeners or anyone on Earth has ever come across. And he’s been absolutely iconic on the show.

“We’re going to get through the playoff this year. Let everyone decompress, and then we have some time to figure out what we’re going to do for next season.”

2. I don’t understand this post on X (formerly Twitter), the article linked in it or the people who Awful Announcing aggregated.

McElroy’s analysis at the end of the game was 100% correct. Notre Dame was better off kicking a field goal at the buzzer to win the game than scoring a touchdown with time on the clock and giving Penn State the ball back.

3. When the Broncos and Bills kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday on CBS, it will mark the 500th NFL game of Jim Nantz’s career.

The breakdown looks like this: 431 regular season games, 69 postseason games, 20 AFC championships and seven Super Bowls.

4. The much-hyped Cavaliers-Thunder game on Wednesday night drew 1.87 million viewers for ESPN.

The markets are not great, but for a matchup between a team on a 15-game winning streak and a team on a 10-game winning streak, that’s a disappointing number.

5. If you like uncomfortable and ridiculous radio, listen to this clip of former Eagles and Giants punter Sean Landetta answering a question about his grooming habits on Philadelphia’s WIP.

6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle.

Eagle talks about calling Saturday’s Chargers-Texans wild-card game, which he dubbed, “The Houston Invitational.” He also shares his thoughts on what it was like to call the Chiefs-Steelers Christmas Day game for Netflix, working with J.J. Watt and Pittsburgh getting snubbed at halftime while the Texans got Beyonce. Eagle also revealed the advice he gave us son, Noah, on calling a blowout in the other Christmas Day game on Netflix.

In addition, Eagle addresses reports that he will be Amazon’s lead NBA voice next year and discusses what it was like to call his first Final Four. Other topics covered include Eagle’s hotel issues, his addiction to pens and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.

Following Eagle, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s subjects include the betting lines for the six NFL wild-card games, when is the right time to take down your Christmas tree, Hulk Hogan getting loudly booed on Monday Night Raw and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: The Sopranos debuted on HBO 26 years ago today. Here is the opening scene from that episode.

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 Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Lee Corso Coverage Is So Icky.

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