1. I come to you with something that’s very rare these days: a feel-good story.
John Cena is already known for granting more Make-A-Wish requests than any person ever. Now, the WWE superstar is literally helping save lives.
In 2019, Cena appeared on the Nickelodeon hidden-camera prank show, The Substitute, where he went undercover as a CPR instructor named Mr. Barnes and taught kids how to stop somebody from choking.
Cut to last week, when eight-year-old Jaxon Dempsey saw his one-year-old sister, Layla, choking on a chicken nugget while they were riding in the back of their dad’s car.
According to Jaxon’s father, Layla’s face “was bright purple and red and “she wasn’t really breathing.” So Jaxon sprung into action. “I told my dad to pull over and then I was starting to pat her back and it got out,” the youngster said.
He claimed he knew what to do from watching Cena.
“I thought she was gonna die, but then the scene came into my mind. I told my dad to pull over and then I started to pat her back.”
After the incident, Jaxon had a message for Cena: “Thank you for being on that show. It teached me a lot about how to save someone’s life.”
2. Never forget that as Kansas coach Roy Williams got all salty with CBS’s Bonnie Bernstein in 2003 after the Jayhawks lost to Syracuse in the men’s NCAA tournament because she asked him about going to North Carolina–and then in 2003 Williams left Kansas for North Carolina.
3. There was a lot of buzz today about the Chiefs’ proposing a rule change that would allow running backs, wide receivers, linebackers and defensive backs to wear single-digit numbers.
However, there is another proposed rule change that would have a much bigger impact on the game. It states: “To amend Rule 6, Section 1, Article 1, to permit a team to maintain possession of the ball after a score by substituting one offensive play (4th and 15 from the kicking team’s 25-yard line) for an onside kickoff attempt.”
I love this proposal. Onside kicks have proved to be useless. There would be so much more excitement generated from a team running a fourth-and-15 play, and it could lead to many more wild comebacks, which is nothing but good for the game.
4. This might be the worst April Fool’s joke I’ve ever seen.
5. The Elite Eight was a ratings disaster for the men’s NCAA tournament.
6. This week’s SI Media Podcast features an interview with WWE superstar Edge.
Topics covered include his main-eventing this year’s WrestleMania with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, coming back 10 years after retiring, the importance of humor as a wrestler, his best friend Christian leaving WWE for AEW and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast with Edge on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: If you’re a baseball fan, celebrate Opening Day by watching this video of Vin Scully explaining how he became a fan of the sport.
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.
