It’s been a little while since I’ve answered your questions and done a mailbag so let’s change that.

I asked for questions via social media and you guys came through, as always. Let’s do it.

I thought NBC did a great job of making opening night feel like a big event. The reality is that NBC’s return to covering the NBA was bigger than a Rockets-Thunder regular-season game. Of course, the network got lucky that it ended up with a double-overtime thriller. Although, this did lead to some issues for people who wanted to watch the Warriors-Lakers game at 10 p.m. ET, but had to go to Peacock.

NBC is going to do a great job with its NBA games, so I don’t think it makes sense to do a full-blown evaluation after one game. We knew going in that Mike Tirico, who handled Rockets-Thunder, is an excellent play-by-play guy, but he will need time to gel with Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford. We knew going in that Noah Eagle, who called Warriors-Lakers, does a solid job. So those wins for NBC were expected.

Obviously, it was great to hear Roundball Rock again, and NBC did a superb job with its intro video, which connected its past to its future. I know people won’t like this take, however, if I’m being honest, that intro did remind me how much more I liked the NBA during the days of Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller and Patrick Ewing than today’s three-point barrage but it was still an extremely well done intro.

Speaking of Jordan, he made his first appearance in his role as a special contributor. The segment was basically Tirico interviewing Jordan about Jordan. If you’re fascinated by Jordan and just want to hear Jordan tell stories, then this was a home run for you.

The fact that Jordan, outside of The Last Dance, hasn’t said much over the years, gave the segment a special feel. And the fact that Jordan was speaking on NBC, no matter what he said, was a win for the network.

I'll give you 10 reasons: 1) The NFL only plays 17 regular-season games. The other sports go on and on and on and on and half the league makes the playoffs, making the regular seasons in those sports practically meaningless. 2) The NFL is a Sunday event. Yes, we have games on Thursday and Monday and Saturday later in the season, but Sundays from September to January are all about the NFL in this country. 3) Fantasy football. 4) Betting. 5) Betting. 6) Betting. 7) Betting. 8) Betting. 9) Betting. 10) Betting.

I criticize MLB for its postseason schedule because I like the sport and want to see it maximize its viewership possibilities. MLB needs to avoid going against the NFL as much as possible, which I pointed out in Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts. The reason MLB should bow down to the NFL is simple: On Sunday, Oct. 12, 27.3 million people watched the Lions-Chiefs game on Sunday Night Football. Game 1 of the ALCS between the Mariners and Blue Jays that night drew 5.3 million people.

To answer the rest of the questions, I’m fortunate enough to have two TVs. So on Monday, I watched Bucs-Lions and Mariners-Blue Jays at the same time. I will watch the World Series.

CBS’s current Big Ten package costs a lot less than the SEC package would’ve cost, so maybe the network is happy about saving money. But you cannot compare the ratings and buzz for the 3:30 SEC games that air on ABC to the 3:30 Big Ten games that air on CBS.

My guess is no. I still feel like there’s a lot we don’t know about this story, so things can change. But Fox has a history of hiring people with very checkered pasts, so I don’t think it would be quick to kick out one of its own. I think if Sanchez goes the whole, “I made a mistake, I’m not proud of my behavior, I’m taking steps to fix things” route, he will keep his job.

There’s one answer and one answer only for me: Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. The pain has never gone away. It will haunt me forever.

I don’t have a relationship with Mike Francesa. I haven’t tried to get him on the SI Media Podcast because I just don’t think it would be a good interview. For example, I don’t care that Mike once fell asleep on the air. But everyone else does. So, I would ask Mike about it and he would say he didn’t fall asleep on the air, even though we all saw it. So what would be the point of the interview?

Funny. Very funny.

I don’t ever want to advocate for anyone losing their jobs, so I’ll just say we need to hear from rules analyst 99% less than we hear from them now.

I’m a quantity, not quality guy when it comes to betting. I don’t bet big amounts, I just like to have a lot of action. This is why college football is bad for me. There are too many games and I want to invest in too many of them. The NFL is much better for me thanks to the limited schedule each Sunday, where I’ll bet almost all the games. Most of the games will have a small amount on it and a couple of games will have a larger amount wagered.

I don’t bet to make money. I do it for the fun and action. So if I make a few hundred dollars in a season, I’m more than happy.

I didn’t like the last two seasons of Seinfeld at all. My favorite thing about Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm was when the shows focused on the day-to-day life minutiae. Whether it was George offering his disaster for having to bring wine and cake to a dinner party or Larry being honest about not liking house tours, those were types of storylines that made me love each show. Seinfeld just got way too broad and unrealistic in its final two seasons.

The single-most ridiculous question I’ve ever been asked in the history of this mailbag.

Now for some questions that came in via Instagram:

The Capital One ad during the last at-bat of the ALCS was despicable, -- @benkrell

It was pretty terrible that Fox did that, but when you watch these games, you have to understand that these networks do not care about the viewers at all. Their only mission is to make as much money as possible. So while the timing was pathetic, I was not surprised it happened.

Do you ever turn the sound off and watch NFL games? I’m enjoying that a lot this year -- @kenlasker

Considering that I cover the broadcasters for a living, I think shutting the sounds off would be bad for me and my readers. Luckily, I have Sunday Ticket, so I can listen to any announcer that I want. The truth is, there’s really only one or two NFL broadcasters who I just can’t listen to because of how annoying they are.

Which current athlete or sports broadcaster would be great hosting Saturday Night Live? -- @rasonjego

For athlete, my real answer would be Travis Kelce because he did it once and was awesome. But giving you someone who has already done it is weak, so I’ll throw another answer out there and say Stephen Curry. It’s kinda crazy that Steph has never done it. I think his personality would be perfect for SNL.

For broadcaster, I’m going with Ian Eagle.

Rate the film All the Right Moves. Best-ever made about high school football according to me. -- @michaelwitmondt

All the Right Moves is a very solid movie, but it’s no Varsity Blues.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Traina Thoughts Mailbag: NBA on NBC Review; Mark Sanchez’s Future, ‘Seinfeld’ and More.

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