Fallout from innocent tweet by Kirk Herbstreit shows what a mess we're in.
1. I’m fully aware it’s not smart to look at Twitter as a meaningful representation of anything because 1) Twitter is not real life, and 2) a lot of people who use Twitter are awful.
Having said that, I'm still dismayed to see just how messed up everything is right now.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit sent this harmless tweet Thursday night.
Herbstreit did not tell anyone to get the vaccine. He did not ask anyone to get the vaccine. He didn’t suggest anyone get the vaccine. He simply shared HIS experience.
Yet, the trolls still attacked.
Just look at those replies. Depressing and infuriating. Clearly, looking at his responses, Herbstreit felt the same. Now, I don’t know why Kirk Herbstreit would ever read his mentions, let alone engage with those kind of people, but that’s a whole other column.
I’ve always said sports fans are, to put it nicely, a little off. So it kind of makes sense they don’t understand the connection between getting everybody vaccinated and having full stadiums and arenas in the near future.
Herbstreit is a classier guy than I am because he never told anyone to get the vaccine. I, though, have no problem saying it: GET THE DAMN VACCINE. And don’t be afraid of the 24-hour side effects many people experience. I had zero side effects from both shots. My arm barely hurt after the first shot and I had no arm pain after the second shot. And I’m a big baby.
Another person who isn’t afraid to tell people to get the vaccine is SiriusXM’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. When a 65-year-old caller told the radio host he doesn’t trust the vaccine, Russo showed everyone why his nickname is “Mad Dog” and gave us a classic radio moment.
2. A brand new SI Media Podcast dropped Thursday, and it features an interview with the new play-by-play man for Monday Night Raw, Adnan Virk.
The conversation covers how Virk got the WWE gig, meeting Vince McMahon, his wrestling fandom, being thrown right into the wrestling fire, his dismissal from ESPN, whether he felt the firing was fair, his love of movies, the three best films of the past year and much more.
3. Charles Barkley is probably the only person on sports TV who would make this comment because he knows he can get away with it.
4. A lot of people are upset with Tom Brady because he decided to be a Debbie Downer about the NFL changing its rules regarding jersey numbers. But how can you be mad at Tom after he addressed the situation with this solid tweet?
5. Mike Trout got hit in the elbow during Thursday night's game against the Astros. The Angels' superstar was also mic'd up, The sound of the baseball making contact with Trout's elbow was downright nasty.
6. It's just a baseball, dude.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 44th birthday to John Cena. Let's remember the time he played Rob Gronkowski on Saturday Night Live.
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 Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.