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ESPN’s Booger McFarland Reveals Crafty Way He’d Stay Warm on Sidelines

Also in Traina Thoughts: Eli Manning enjoys nipple play; mascot terrorizes sideline reporter; Niners rookie prank and much more.

Jimmy Traina

1. Booger McFarland has done a very nice job making the transition from the booth to the studio on Monday Night Football.

After a rough two-year stint calling games, which included one year of McFarland’s doing the games from a crane for some bizarre reason, he has found a groove on Monday Night Countdown. He’s offers strong opinions, he provides interesting perspective and he isn’t afraid to mix it up with his cohosts.

McFarland also provides light moments and sometimes pulls back the curtain for fans.

That was the case Monday night during a segment in Green Bay about how players deal with cold temperatures while on the sidelines.

“A little trick of the trade,” said McFarland. “In the summertime, we have Gatorade. But in the wintertime, no Gatorade. We’re gonna have a little chicken broth over here in our Gatorade cooler. And if you’re like me, I have a little shot of something over here. Maybe something a little stronger on the side just to give you a little warmth down your throat. Maybe a little whiskey. I’m not saying that everybody does it. I’m just telling you what I did to try to stay warm on the sidelines.”

This is the kind of insight we want and need from NFL analysts.

2. “I like the nipple rub” was a sentence uttered by Eli Manning on Monday night's ManningCast.

3. Keep Trail Blazers reporter Brooke Olzendam in your thoughts after this incident with the Thunder mascot Monday night.

4. The Niners did that prank where veterans saddle rookies with some huge bill at dinner. The youngsters got quite a scare because "the bill" they got was for $322,391.05.

However, veteran linebacker Arik Armstead had to clear things up after so many people thought the bill was real.

5. Here are the sights and sounds from the biggest comeback in NFL history.

6. The newest SI Media Podcast features three segments.

The show begins with a conversation with Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim about longtime colleague Grant Wahl, who died at 49 while covering the World Cup. Wertheim talks about Wahl's love of soccer, his rise at SI and the kind of person he was.

Following Wertheim, Greg Olsen from Fox Sports joins the podcast to talk about his first year as the network’s lead NFL analyst, what it’s like having Tom Brady waiting in the wings to take his job, what he said to Brady when he saw him earlier this season, what he’d like to improve about his broadcasts, his partnership with Kevin Burkhardt and much more.

Following Olsen, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we weigh in on a couple of fantastic Bill Belichick stories, Twitter's new check-mark system and the stress of holiday tipping.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: We’ll use this space the rest of the week to feature some Christmas videos. Today, we remember how mobsters celebrate the holiday.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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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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