1. One of the best things on Twitter lately has been watching Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt attempt to recruit his free-agent brother, J.J., to Pittsburgh.
It appears that T.J. isn’t using social media only to convince J.J. to join him and their other brother, fullback Derek, in the Steel City. On Thursday, J.J. shared video of T.J. doing some snow shoveling.
The video did two things. 1) It led to several questions about the shoveling situation and 2) it threw Twitter into a frenzy.
We don’t know whether this shoveling took place at T.J.’s house, J.J.’s house or another family member’s house. But that did not stop many fans from assuming that the shoveling was a bribe meant to push J.J. toward the Steelers. So fans of other teams used the video to make their own pitches to the future Hall of Fame defensive lineman.
But before we get to those videos, let me get to the questions I have about this video. And if you’re reading this please send it to T.J. because I NEED answers.
- Is T.J. shoveling in crocs or are those slippers? If so, why? How?
- I understand T.J. is a big, tough football player and one of the best in the NFL, but how is he not wearing a hat, gloves or a scarf?
- I’ll give the Watts a pass on not paying someone to shovel because once the person realizes they’re shoveling for an NFL player, it’s price-gouging time. But how do neither T.J nor J.J. not own a snow blower?
OK, now that I got all that off my chest, so now here’s how Twitter reacted to J.J.’s video of T.J. shoveling:
Rumors say that J.J. is seriously considering signing with Cleveland. And the Packers are a strong player since J.J. is from Wisconsin. But given the great relationship the three Watt brothers seem to have, I’m rooting for J.J. to land with the Steelers.
It would be very cool to see J.J. and T.J. rushing quarterbacks together, and, more importantly, I don’t want T.J.’s shoveling to go waste.
2. After LeBron James badly missed a free throw after a technical foul, Nets guard Kyrie Irving did some solid trash-talking.
3. This is outstanding commentary by ESPN’s Bill Walton.
4. Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley got into an argument on Inside the NBA on Thursday night about the real reason the NBA is holding the All-Star Game in Atlanta.
5. When Aaron Rodgers made his MVP speech a few weeks ago, the focus was on the quarterback revealing that he was engaged. What many people missed in his speech was that he mentioned actress Jodie Foster when he was listing the people he wanted to thank.
Foster appeared on Thursday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and explained that while she is a huge Packers fan, she has never met Rodgers and was stunned by his mention.
6. If you’re into the current trading cards craze, or if you just want to get educated on the trading cards boom, you will enjoy the latest SI Media Podcast that features an interview with Darren Rovell.
The main focus of the episode is the explosion in the trading cards business. From why the boom happened and whether it will last to the process of getting cards graded and selling them for profit, Rovell goes in-depth on explaining many of the aspects of this phenomenon. He also explains that people are buying and selling more than cards. Game tickets, VCR tapes and checks are also in high demand. In addition to discussing the trading card world we also talk about the Super Bowl streaker who claims he won $375,000 on a $50,000 bet and the possibility of Twitter adding a pay service.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM OF THE DAY: Tomorrow marks the 10-year anniversary of Blake Griffin’s jumping over a Kia at the Slam Dunk Contest.
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
