1. A promise is a promise.
Mookie Betts learned that lesson in an extraordinary way recently when a fan named his new daughter after the superstar outfielder.
Betts took to Twitter to explain that while he was on deck during a recent game, a fan yelled out that if the slugger homered, he would name his new baby after the two-time World Series champion.
Sure enough, Betts went deep in that at bat and then fist-bumped the fan after he hit home plate In fact, Betts said in the video it was the farthest home run he’s ever hit in his career.
Weeks later, Betts saw a photo of the birth certificate on the fan’s Twitter account with the following name on it: Francesca Mookie Mancuso.
“Shout-out to you, Giuseppe,” Betts said in his video. “I can’t wait to meet Francesca. That’s going to be my girl.”
One of the coolest moments of ya boy’s entire career! Bro is a man of his word 😂👶🏼 #babymookie pic.twitter.com/rVIG4VWJVe
— Mookie Betts (@mookiebetts) August 15, 2023
2. We dropped this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast a day early this week after taking last week off. My guest for this episode is Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football and Fox NFL Kickoff.
Schrager discusses what his travel schedule is like during the season when he has to commute from New York City to Los Angeles every weekend, what his goal is when reporting for Fox NFL Kickoff, and the huge broadcast and media changes coming to the NFL for the 2023 season.
Other topics covered include why this is set up to be a great NFL season, a sleeper MVP candidate, Netflix’s Quarterback series and much more.
Following Schrager, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss our early opinions on NFL team win total over/unders, why giving up fantasy football is a great life decision, the Blind Side controversy, the Johnny Manziel Netflix documentary 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 YouTube.
3. Episode 2 of Hard Knocks on Tuesday was a little more entertaining than Week 1’s dud. We saw a player get his nose pierced, we learned that Aaron Rodgers has a habit of ripping grass out of the ground and that the quarterback goes hard when trash-talking.
LMFAOOOOO 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/xclGIhIefn
— Big B (@bigpackers4x) August 16, 2023
We also saw the Jets rookies get destroyed by the rest of the team for putting together a truly horrible Rookie Show, a staple of all training camps across the NFL.
Since the Jets’ Rookie Show was so bad, here’s a clip from the Lions’ rookie show from last year’s Hard Knocks, which saw Aidan Hutchinson work his peers into a frenzy with his rendition of “Billie Jean.”
This is the right video to start your day. Aidan Hutchinson singing Billie Jean on the debut of Hard Knocks: pic.twitter.com/SP2WYL5DUN
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) August 10, 2022
4. If you’re into the Blind Side scandal that has taken some wild twists and turns the past couple of days, you’ll get a kick out of this old Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Peyton Manning.
The SNL "Blind Side" spoof is looking wildly accurate right about now: pic.twitter.com/6PRlMH30jr
— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) August 15, 2023
5. Just an amazing gambling nugget from the world of MLB.
The Oakland Athletics have been favored ONCE in their past 151 games
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) August 15, 2023
Remarkable
6. If you’re a New Yorker and/or WFAN listener, you will get a huge kick out of Gregg Giannotti’s Joe Benigno impression from Wednesday’s Boomer and Gio show.
WFAN’s @GioWFAN as Joe Beningo finding out Jets coach Robert Saleh scrolls through TikTok is pure perfection. pic.twitter.com/2eVAerFBHZ
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) August 16, 2023
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: We gave you a classic Jerry Seinfeld video in Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts. Here’s another from a recent stand-up show that Jerry did in which he ranted about people who police cellphone usage.
