1. Conspiracies are all the rage these days. It doesn’t even matter what the topic is anymore; everything is a conspiracy.
So since everybody seems to love a good conspiracy, I thought I’d kick off this edition of Traina Thoughts with quite a doozy regarding the New England Patriots‘ series that is currently airing on Apple+.
The Twitter user below somehow figured out (unless he’s pulling a fast one on us) that in The Dynasty: New England Patriots, former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles’s name was edited out of Al Michaels call of the “Philly Special” touchdown in Super Bowl LII.
Michaels’s call went like this: “They’re gonna snap it. And it’s Trey Burton who throws. Caught. Foles. Touchdown.
On the Apple+ series, it sounded like this: “They’re gonna snap it. And it’s Trey Burton who throws. Caught. Touchdown.”
I have uncovered an anti-Nick Foles conspiracy in this Apple TV show about the Patriots. pic.twitter.com/RRgrs4hvHK
— Todd Orodenker (@ToddO243) March 18, 2024
It appears that just “Foles” was edited out of the call. Why? Who ordered the code red?
It couldn’t have possibly been anyone associated with the Patriots who asked that Foles’s name get cut out because the team is still so bitter about losing that Super Bowl, could it? And if not, why would any of the producers of the series decide to edit out “Foles?”
So many questions, as with any good conspiracy.
2. As we told you last week, CBS’s Greg Gumbel missed Sunday’s NCAA tournament selection show because he was dealing with a family illness. Adam Zucker filled in and did a very solid job.
Here’s how the show opened, with Gumbel’s colleagues discussing his absence.
CBS begins the NCAA Tournament Selection Show with the crew sending their best wishes to Greg Gumbel.
Gumbel is absent from this year’s NCAA Tournament due to family health matters (https://t.co/npWk1KCsN7). pic.twitter.com/26QvgjzofM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2024
3. ABC/ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco had a great call on Kyrie Irving‘s unreal game-winning shot for the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
KYRIE IRVING GAME WINNER MY GOODNESS. 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 17, 2024
4. What a whirlwind for Joey Votto. Two weeks ago, he was on social media begging for a job.
missing ball pic.twitter.com/r8ZG9gfU2i
— Joey Votto (@JoeyVotto) March 6, 2024
Last week, Votto, who was born in Toronto, signed with the Blue Jays.
Minor league contract signed. 😃
It’s official, I’m a little Blue Jay now. pic.twitter.com/DOPH7XWNrc
— Joey Votto (@JoeyVotto) March 10, 2024
Sunday, in his first at-bat as a Blue Jay, Votto went deep.
First pitch swinging 😮
It’s @JoeyVotto‘s FIRST homer in a #BlueJays uniform! pic.twitter.com/1cVrONpJ0N
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 17, 2024
Then he stepped on a bat and hurt his ankle, while also showing us that we don’t use the word “dickens” nearly enough on a day-to-day basis.
Joey Votto had originally planned to play five innings today, not one.
“I accidentally stepped on a bat in the dugout, rolled my ankle and it hurt like the dickens.”
He expects that tomorrow’s off day will be enough, then he’ll be back at it. #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 17, 2024
5. On March 4, I sent the following tweet:
According to his latest Instagram post, @TheRock is going to be on the next two episodes of Friday Night SmackDown. That means we have two more opportunities for a “Rock Concert.” We don’t want the “Rock Concert.” We NEED the “Rock Concert.” pic.twitter.com/9oy32CqbH9
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) March 4, 2024
On Friday, The Rock graced us with a “Rock Concert” from SmackDown in Memphis. The show even included a dig at Memphis Grizzlies star, Ja Morant.
“Just like Ja Morant, when he’s waving a gun.”
— The Rock#SmackDown
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) March 16, 2024
6. A brand new episode of SI Media with Jimmy Traina dropped this morning and it features a conversation with ESPN NFL analyst, Dan Orlovsky.
Orlovsky gives a breakdown of his unbelievably busy schedule, talks about how the NFL owns most of the sports calendar and shares his thoughts about the wild free-agency spree that took place this week.
Orlovsky also reveals that his ultimate goal is to call top games each week and whether he feels like networks have a bias against putting him in that role since he wasn’t a superstar player. He also weighs in on his relationship with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Mike Greenberg and Dan “Big Cat” Katz.
Orlovsky also shares some of his famous food takes, talks about what it’s like to have triplets and much more.
Following Orlovsky, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include Aaron Rodgers as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, the NFL Network moving Good Morning Football from New York to Los Angeles, Tiki Barber vs. Saquon Barkley, Love Is Blind and more.
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 Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Spoilers ahead: Last night’s Curb Your Enthusiasm was the funniest of the season mainly because of Larry trying to deal with being on a group text chain. People thinking they are too good for a text chain is absolutely a thing, so it’s no surprise Larry would nail it.
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.
