Traina Thoughts: Brent Musburger Explains His Betting Philosophy While Being the Voice of the Raiders

Raiders radio voice Brent Musburger has it in his contract with Oakland than he can bet on football.

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1. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again: Brent Musburger is a national treasure. (Full disclosure: Brent had me on his VSiN radio show each Monday during the NFL season last year, so I am biased.)

Musburger appeared on New York City's WOR radio Tuesday night and was asked by host Sal Licata if there were any restrictions on him betting the NFL now that he's the radio voice of the Oakland Raiders. Here was Musburger's answer:

"It has not been brought up to me and I insisted in my negotiations with the Raiders that I would not have to adhere to the NFL rules. I’m aware of the rules that exist and I understand why the players, the coaches, the people in the front office can’t, but I’m in the middle of doing gambling shows for VSiN, I participate in the Super Contest at the Westgate. So I wasn’t going to hide the fact that I take an occasional position. I’ll probably stay away from the Raiders not because of any rules or anything, but because of a bias factor. You don’t want to do that if you’re gambling on football games. The truth is, I live here in Nevada and it’s perfectly legal and I bet at the Southpoint, I bet at the Westgate, I bet at the stations. I’m not a big-time bettor at all. I’m a recreational bettor. I enjoy it. It enhances the experience to me. But there have been no restrictions placed on me."

Let's go through the gems in that statement:

• He made betting on the NFL part of his negoations with the Raiders.

• He uses the term "I take an occasional position" as a classy way of saying, "I bet the games."

• He said he'll "probably" stay away from betting Raiders games. He didn't say he would definitely stay away from betting Raiders games.

Beautifully done all around by Brent.

2. J.J. Watt getting interviewed by two kid reporters is not only amusing, but there's definitely a Between Two Ferns quality to it.

3. Once again, Kevin Durant is sadly fighting with completely random people in the comments section of Instagram.

4. WWE superstar Titus O'Neill is here to help the weird people who are burning their Nike apparel.

5. The overall season of Hard Knocks was great. Last night's season finale was a little disappointing. There wasn't enough humor and light-hearted moments because the focus was on cuts and the stupid stripe on the helmet that nobody cares about. However, the episode did close with this interesting piece of coaching advice from defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

6. If you're a sports media nerd or a superfan of The Office or both, you will thoroughly enjoy the latest SI Media Podcast. Over the first 44 minutes I interviewed Ryan Russillo about his career, working for ESPN and The Ringer, why he left ESPN last December, how he feels about doing radio, why he thinks he's good at radio, whether he'd like to have his own TV show, and much more. Russillo doesn't hold back, either, talking about ESPN "liking" him, but not "loving" him, being told he was being laid off only to not get laid off, and more. The final 20 minutes of the podcast we do a deep dive into The Office and argue about Russillo's take that Pam Beesly is "evil." You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes.

7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since we started with Brent Musburger and Eminem has a new album out, let's remember one of the most bizarre moments in sports television history.

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 make sure to listen to and subscribe to the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina.

IN CLOSING: Prediction before the NFL season begins: Ratings will again be down this year. And you're going to hear about it constantly.