Traina Thoughts: Nick Saban Apparently Played a Key Role in Alabama Election

Write-in votes for Nick Saban may have played a role in Doug Jones' win over Roy Moore.

1. Sanity prevailed Tuesday night when Doug Jones narrowly beat Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate election. There are many theories out there today that Jones was helped by many Crimson Tide fans who may have written in Nick Saban's name on their ballots.

Could this be the difference maker? The write-in (Nick Saban) total - 1.6% - is waaay wider than the 0.2% gap between Moore and Jones in #ALSen race.

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) December 13, 2017

20,500 write-ins
Gap in votes between Moore and Jones: About 10k

— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) December 13, 2017

It's never a binary choice:
Jones: 640,520
Moore: 631,576
Write-Ins: 22,044#ALSen

— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) December 13, 2017

Official numbers are not out yet, so it's premature to say Saban was definitely a factor in the outcome, but it looks like a safe bet that Saban did come in third place in the voting. We should find out soon just how many votes he received.

Thanks to a new state law in Alabama, we're actually going to find out how many write-in votes Nick Saban got pic.twitter.com/eMAUX5jtS8

— Ryan Ginn (@rmginn) December 13, 2017

2. Speaking of Doug Jones' win over Roy Moore, several sports figures took to Twitter to react to the election results.

Happy 25th anniversary Doug and Louise Jones. Congratulations on your win!

— Bo Jackson (@BoJackson) December 13, 2017

Man it was a close one but have u guys heard the news!!!!! Aaron Rogers is back!!

— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) December 13, 2017

3. Awesome job by Drew Brees, who opened a "fully inclusive" playground in New Orleans on Tuesday. As Brees said on Instagram, the playground is for children of all abilities, including those with mobility and sensory challenges.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees)

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A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees)

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A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees)

4. Packers players were a tad excited that Aaron Rodgers announced his return last night.

pic.twitter.com/rWOungcqnG

— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) December 13, 2017

Da King.....has returrrnnn *Rafiki voice*

— Davante Adams (@tae15adams) December 13, 2017

pic.twitter.com/yAgjtJrIaY

— Jeff Janis (@jrjanis) December 13, 2017

5. Wow. No LeBron or Steph Curry?

According to Google, these were the top 10 most-searched athletes in the US of 2017.
1. Floyd Mayweather
​2. Gordon Hayward
3. Aaron Boone
4. Paul George
5. Tony Romo
6. Aaron Judge
7. Lonzo Ball
8. Carmelo Anthony
9. Sergio Garcia
10. Isaiah Thomas

— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) December 13, 2017

6. A Saints season-ticket holder is suing the team because some players took a knee during the national anthem. New Orleans running back Mark Ingram weighed in on this development.

The one time we protested an anthem was an away game. After a team meeting we decided to kneel as one BEFORE the anthem was played and STAND united as one DURING the anthem! Good luck dude ✌🏾 https://t.co/28huwGP0Pu

— Mark Ingram II (@markingramII) December 13, 2017

7. The Rock was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and talked about his sperm.

8. RANDOM MIKE FRANCESA VIDEO: After Hurricane Sandy, Francesa told a truly epic story about how he had to change a tire on his car.

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