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Traina Thoughts: Dear FOX, Please Hire One Of These People To Call Thursday Night Football

Here are five people FOX needs to consider to call its new Thursday night football package.

Jimmy Traina

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1. With FOX set to air Thursday Night Football for the next five seasons, it's time to focus on who will call the games. The NFL reportedly is not making FOX use its top team -- Joe Buck and Troy Aikman -- on the game, so speculation is under way for who could fill the booth. I'm here to help FOX with the play-by-play portion of the broadcast. Here are five people (*and a bonus pick) the network should reach out to for the gig.

• GUS JOHNSON: He does college football for FOX on Saturdays, so using him on a Thursday shouldn't be a problem. If the network wants to instantly make the most amount of fans happy, it gives Gus the game.

• BRENT MUSBURGER: The legendary broadcaster has a radio career going in Vegas, but it's hard to imagine he wouldn't want to call a widely viewed game for 11 weeks a year. And don't bring up Musburger's age. Dick Stockton is 75 years old and he's still calling games for FOX.

• KEVIN HARLAN: FOX would have to lure him away from CBS, but he's got the best pipes in the business and is a fan favorite. 

• THOM BRENNAMAN: If the network wants to stay in house, it can elevate Brennaman, who does an excellent job calling games. If FOX elevates Brennaman, it also means they can keep their top two teams (Buck/Aikman, Kevin Burkhardt/Charles Davis) in tact.

• STEVE LEVY: If FOX is looking for an up-and-comer from another network, Levy, who is one of the better listens each and every Saturday on college football for ESPN, fits the bill.

• BONUS PICK -- JIM ROSS: The greatest wrestling announcer of all time loves football and has experience calling football games (if you consider the first incarnation of the XFL football). This would also save bloggers time because they wouldn't have to make Jim Ross dubs over highlights. EVERY highlight would be a Jim Ross dub.

2. Speaking of announcers, a very creative video maker put together this mashup of Tony Romo making bizarre sounds during the Jaguars-Patriots AFC title game.

3. Travis Kelce is the guest on this week's edition of "Off The Board." The Chiefs tight end talked about playing with new quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, explained what it's like to have a brother (Eagles OL, Jason) playing in the Super Bowl and handicapped some of the more bizarre Super Bowl prop bets. You can listen to the podcast below or on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher.​

4. Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had the best reaction to the comical story out there about LeBron James saying he "would" meet with the Warriors during free agency.

5. Here is a compilation of some of the best NFL trash talking from the past season.

6. This is great stuff by Seahawks tight end, Luke Wilson, who relived the final play of Super Bowl XLIX, when Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson after Seattle decided to pass instead of run, on Barstool Radio.

7.I have massive expectations for tonight's "The Two Bills" 30-for-30. Every preview clip has been awesome.​

Traina Thoughts is the best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts right here. And check out Jimmy Traina's weekly podcast, "Off The Board."

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BONUS ITEM: How on earth does Blake Griffin find out he was traded via Twitter? What a level of disrespect.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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