Kirk Cousins Took Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers Through All the Emotions

Also in Traina Thoughts: wild Phillies stat; Stefon Diggs has sympathy; Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is not retiring if the Diamondbacks win tonight; and more.

1. Watching Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers watch Kirk Cousins play Monday night was quite an experience.

Rodgers was a guest on the ManningCast in the second quarterback when Cousins missed an easy touchdown pass to a wide-open receiver. Peyton was apoplectic, while Rodgers couldn’t hide his frustration, either.

There was redemption for Cousins later in the quarter, with just 16 seconds left in the half, when he threw a 60-yard touchdown pass that Jordan Addison ripped away from a Niners defender. 

This time, Peyton damn near lost his mind with excitement, while Rodgers was left stunned.

Peyton, @EliManning and @AaronRodgers12 are all of us watching that play pic.twitter.com/wNiU9OkzAh

— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) October 24, 2023

On both plays, Eli Manning was stoic. But at least Eli didn’t look downright bored, as he hilariously did during this segment with Peyton using a bunch of kids to diagram some play.

"Go do your homework, boys" 😂 pic.twitter.com/1bNXgKW7rP

— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) October 24, 2023

2. Here is your completely-wild-hard-to-believe-can’t-be-true stat of the day. The Phillies’ NLCS Game 7 against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night will be the first time Philadelphia is playing a Game 7 in franchise history. The Phillies have been a franchise since 1883.

The Phillies will play their first Game 7 in franchise history tonight in what is their 14th best-of-7 series.

The only franchises left to never play a winner-take-all Game 7 are the White Sox (6 series), Padres (4), Mariners (3) and Rockies (2). pic.twitter.com/tx3qLMhNx3

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 24, 2023

3. As a degenerate gambler, I’d like to thank Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs for caring about us.

I ain’t going lie. I do be feeling a lil bad when I f*** up yaw parlay… or fantasy

— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) October 23, 2023

Get up to $100 from SI Sportsbook in Colorado, Michigan and Virginia

Bet $5 on FanDuel and get $200 in Bonus Bets if not in those states

4. Shaquille O'Neal was a guest on this week’s episode of SiriusXM's Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray. The Diesel talked about his recent weight loss and managed to get in a shot at his colleague, Charles Barkley.

“This year I wanted to get in a little bit more shape,” Shaq said to Brady. “I saw you on the beach with your shirt off and I got super jealous. Tom does it again. So I lost about 50 pounds. I could admit I was at 401 because, I don't know how you felt, but when you accomplish everything and you do everything, you just turn it off. Like, I had nothing else to do. Like, I’m done. I’m retired. My Achilles heel is sandwiches. Just a lot of sandwiches. And then one day I went to the doctor and I had CBOTB–that’s Charles Barkley Over the Belly Belt. … I’m back into the 350s. I’m gonna try to take it to 325 because I wanna take my shirt off on the beach like you did!”

5. On his SiriusXM show Monday, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said he would retire if the Diamondbacks won Games 6 and 7 against the Phillies in Philadelphia. Well, Arizona took Game 6, and now people are wondering whether the Dog’s career could be over Tuesday night.

However, if you listen to the full clip of what he said, he quickly backtracked on his retirement promise.

No, despite what you might read today, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is not retiring if the Diamondbacks beat the Phillies tonight. Here is the full version of what he said on his SiriusXM show yesterday. pic.twitter.com/kPAv0tozvU

— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 24, 2023

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with the founder and CEO of The Ringer, Bill Simmons.

Topics discussed include why Simmons doesn’t do a lot of interviews, the state of sports media, what makes someone a good podcaster, how he preps for a podcast, how he remembers his time at ESPN, whether he regrets calling Roger Goodell a “liar,” getting suspended from Twitter, his issue with how people aggregate his podcast and the ESPN NBA Countdown vs. TNT’s Inside the NBA battle.

Other topics covered include the NBA and MLB broadcaster problem, the way gambling has taken over everything in sports, his upcoming Vince McMahon Netflix documentary and much, much more.

Following Simmons, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Jimmy and Sal discuss Twitter charging $1 a year to use the service, the reaction to the viral Chargers fan from Monday Night Football, whether the Buccaneers’ creamsicle uniforms are the best in sports and upcoming NFL schedule items. Plus, we answer listener questions.

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

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In honor of the NBA season beginning Tuesday night on TNT, here are eight minutes of Kevin Harlan’s best calls.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.