Traina Thoughts: The Rock Gives Thumbs Up to Blue Jays Fan Wearing Great T-Shirt
1. If you were putting together the Mount Rushmore of hilarious, iconic sports-related photos that the Internet can't get enough of, Tom Brady's combine photo would make the cut. LeBron's bewilderment with J.R. Smith from the NBA Finals might make the cut. And the old-school picture of The Rock rocking the fanny pack and mock turtleneck would definitely make the cut.
This bring us to Saturday afternoon and the Astros-Blue Jays game in Toronto. Houston's Yordan Alvarez fouls a ball off into the stands behind third base and a fan makes a very impressive grab with one hand while holding a beer in the other. But that's not the headline here. The headline is that the fan did all this while wearing a T-shirt with that iconic image of The Rock and the words "THUG LIFE" across it.
And since The Rock is the coolest man on the planet, he acknowledged the gentelman's fine fashion sense and gave him props, which was a thrill for the Jays fan.
2. A brand new SI Media Podcast dropped this morning and it's a very good one. First up is NFL Network's Rich Eisen, who talked about the Andrew Luck bombshell, the upcoming NFL season and what makes an NFL pregame show stand out in such a crowded field. Eisen also shared some great stories about Larry David, who attended Rich's 50th birthday party, and shared some info on the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
At the 40-minute mark of the podcast, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo from SiriusXM and MLB Network joins the show to opine on a variety of topics like only he can. The Doggie discussed being snubbed from the Radio Hall of Fame, whether he reached out to his old partner Mike Francesa to congratulate him on his induction, why athletes don't care about sports talk radio anymore, whether the future of radio is in jeopardy, why the NBA's popularity annoys him and much, much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes. Spotify, Stitcher or Google Play.
3. If you missed it late last week while enjoying the end of the summer, check out my pice on Nine Sports Media Things We're Looking Forward to When Football Starts.
4. Regular SI Media Podcast guest Andrew Marchand is reporting that Michelle Beadle and ESPN are working on terms of a buyout that would see her part ways with the company after she lost her gig hosting NBA Countdown.
5. The NFL's 100th season kicks off Thursday and Good Morning Football's Nate Burleson is here to get you pumped up with an original song that pays homage to the game.
6. As sports betting becomes legal in more and more states, we will hopefully see more broadcasters call out significant moments that affect the point spread. SEC Network's Tom Hart did just that Saturday night when Georgia kicked a very late field goal to cover against Vanderbilt.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: In honor of the NFL's opening week, let's remember some of Tony Romo's greatest predictions.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: The early Week 1 NFL line I love the most is Giants +7 at Dallas.