1. I fully understand that the Major League Baseball schedule release is never going to be a big deal since there are 162 regular-season games, interleague play is no longer special and because baseball is a regional, not a national, sport.<\/p>\n
However, that doesn\u2019t mean baseball should go out of its way to completely bury its schedule release. Did anybody even know the 2026 schedule was going to be announced on Tuesday?<\/p>\n
This was how commissioner Rob Manfred decided to release next season\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n
The 2026 regular season schedule just dropped! Here are the dates you need to remember \u2b07\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/wVziSlv62e<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MLB (@MLB) August 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Thrilling.<\/p>\n This is a patten with baseball. This is a sport that holds its Hall of Fame ceremony WHILE A FULL SLATE OF GAMES ARE BEING PLAYED AT THE SAME EXACT TIME!<\/p>\n This is a sport that releases its postseason awards at 6 p.m. ET, not exactly a prime timeslot to maximize viewers.<\/p>\n This is a sport that allows Fox to put the League Championship Series on FS1.<\/p>\n So, it shouldn\u2019t surprise anyone that MLB just quietly released its 2026 schedule on a random Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying baseball should have a three-hour schedule release show, a la the NFL. But a little promotion might be good. <\/p>\n Baseball\u2019s main television partner is Fox. How about having Fox air a half-hour show to announce some of the schedule highlights, such as Opening Day and holidays like the 4th of July and Memorial Day?<\/p>\n Fox aired the Red Sox-Yankees game nationally last Thursday. That pregame show would\u2019ve been a much better time to release the schedule than 1 p.m. ET on a Tuesday.<\/p>\n 2. One of the big narratives around Tom Brady\u2019s rookie season as Fox\u2019s lead NFL analyst was that Brady was hurt by not being able to be in production meetings with each team because of his minority ownership stake in the Raiders.<\/p>\n According to The Athletic\u2019s Andrew Marchand, that rule is no more. Marchand reports<\/a> that the NFL will now let Brady attend production meeting with the coaches and players this season.<\/p>\n In Tom Brady\u2019s rookie broadcasting year, he played by a special set of rules due to his Raiders ownership stake. The NFL relented for the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n Now? The \u201cBrady Rules\u201d are basically done, sources tell @AndrewMarchand<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 3. I was blown away by this post for one simple reason: How on earth is Mike Greenberg 58 years old? The guy could pass for 40, easily.<\/p>\n It was 29 years ago today that I started at ESPN, feeling as nervous and excited as any day of my life. <\/p>\n The anniversary feels especially significant to me this year since I just turned 58, so I have now spent literally half my life at this network. Hard to believe. <\/p>\n All I can\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/etekvCzcB3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) August 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 4. This guy drinking a gallon of milk at Tuesday\u2019s Phillies-Mets game was probably a planned stunt, but I sure hope it wasn\u2019t. If it is legit, I need to know how he was able to sneak a gallon of milk into Citi Field.<\/p>\n The gallon of milk in question. How this got inside Citi Field is beyond me.#Mets<\/a> #LGM<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/7Hh5pQFw6t<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jE3y2QEJ1N<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Miles Bolton (@milesbolt) August 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n in other exciting news, this guy has managed to drink an Entire Gallon Of Milk throughout the course of the game tonight\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ypsiWpFrtp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 emily \ud83c\udf4e (@emilyinqueens) August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 5. It\u2019s time for YOU to pay for NBC\u2019s acquisition of the NBA. I ask this question with all seriousness and would love to hear from you guys. If you are not an NBA fan, why on earth would anyone pay $17 a month for Peacock?<\/p>\n It never ends. pic.twitter.com\/UvWs0ekdXj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 6. The latest\u00a0SI Media With Jimmy Traina\u00a0podcast is half \u201cTraina Thoughts\u201d and half mailbag, with WFAN\u2019s Sal Licata joining me for the entire show.<\/p>\n Topics discussed include the onslaught of sports docuseries, ESPN\u2019s new direct-to-consumer app and its best feature, preseason NFL magazines and the perils of MLB betting.<\/p>\n In the mailbag segment, we tackle questions about the possibility of a woman becoming a full-time NFL game analyst, UFC leaving ESPN for Paramount, Howard Stern\u2019s future on SiriusXM, ESPN buying MLB.tv, ESPN\u2019s plan for its direct-to-consumer product, Russell Wilson vs. Jaxson Dart, the pinnacle of HBO\u2019s\u00a0Hard Knocks, Cris Collinsworth\u2019s future with NBC, MLB realignment, my aversion to flying and whether Sal has recently called 911.<\/p>\n You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n 7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 77th birthday to WWE legend Sgt. Slaughter. In my opinion, Slaughter had one of the best heel turns ever. This was old-school wrestling at its best.<\/p>\n Be sure to\u00a0catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts<\/a>\u00a0and check out the\u00a0Sports Illustrated Media Podcast\u00a0hosted by Jimmy Traina on\u00a0Apple<\/a>,\u00a0Spotify<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Google<\/a>. You can also follow Jimmy on\u00a0X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n