Jimmy Traina, the creator of Hot Clicks, one of the most popular features on Sports Illustrated.com, is leaving for Fox Sports, a source tells The Big Lead. A spokesman at Fox Sports had no comment but an announcement is expected today or tomorrow.
A source says Traina will be an editor for Fox Sports.com, and he’s expected to continue doing podcasts with athletes and create something along the lines of Hot Clicks.
Depending on whom you speak with in the media, Hot Clicks is either the most-clicked section at SI.com after Peter King’s MMQB, or it is full of scantily-clad women and links to cool sports stories. Whichever side you fall on, its popularity at SI.com is undeniable.
This is the first significant hire – relatively speaking; talk to anyone in sports media and they’re aware of what Traina built at SI – for Pete Vlastelica, the new SVP of Digital at Fox Sports. All the talk for the last six months at Fox has been Fox Sports 1; the next order of business is to rebuild the website.
[Ed. Pete notes that there have been other hires. And Fox also inked Outkick the Coverage to a licensing deal, though I considered that more of TV deal.]
Expect to hear about more hires at Fox Sports.com in the coming months.