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Traina Thoughts: How the Blazing Hot Takes on Phil Mickelson's U.S Open Brouhaha Stack Up

'Disgraceful!' 'Think about the kids.' Phil Mickelson made golf media irate with his U.S. Open stunt.

Jimmy Traina

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

1. The golf world was turned upside down Saturday afternoon when Phil Mickelson got frustrated and decided to hit his golf ball while it was still moving on the 13th green. Some fans and many in the sports media world were outraged. Absolutely outraged. That meant one thing: A bevy of steaming hot takes flying around the Internet with no regard for human life. Golf writers were salty that Lefty would commit such a dastardly crime. Writers and others in the sports world were trying to wrap their brains around such a national tragedy and the result was an ongoing barrage of takes that were impossible to keep up with.

But, fear not. Traina Thoughts is here for you. We've power ranked eight of the hottest hot takes on Mickelson's behavior. If you disagree with the rankings in any way, hit me up on Twitter and let me know your take.

#8: Brian Keogh, Independent.ie

#7: Lee Fitting, ESPN Vice President of college sports

#6: Michael Bamberger, Golf.com

#5: TalkSport.com

#4: John Hopkins, FOX

#3: Randall Mell, Golf Channel

#2: Ian O'Connor, ESPN

#1: Andy North, ESPN

When you play the "think of the kids" card, you automatically get top billing. Fitting might have been the most angry, but he just sent a tweet. He didn't write an entire column, so he couldn't be ranked lower. Props to Bamberger for the middle finger analogy. Hopkins called Mickelson a "chump" and "silly ass," but he did it too calmly to be ranked in the Top 3. Mell made a strong case for No. 1 since he claimed Mickelson ruined all of golf, but that still can't top the "what about the children" take.

BONUS: Not a hot take, but noteworthy, nonetheless.

2. Brewers reliever Adrian Houser did more than just throw warm up pitches before entering yesterday's game. He also vomitted. Twice. "For Adrian today, it was just kind of a combination of a bunch of factors," said Milwaukee skipper Craig Counsell. "He wasn't under the weather at all, but it was an early wake-up call, not enough food, heat, probably a little nerves from getting to the big leagues today."

3. You can't snip him.

4. Joel Embiid, who says he doesn't slide in DMs, is in full offseason mode.

5. The latest episode of the SI Media Podcast features Sports Illustrated senior writer Lee Jenkins and New York Post media reporter Andrew Marchand. 

Jenkins discusses the cover story he wrote for SI this week on Kevin Durant and shares insight into Durant’s unique personality. Jenkins, who broke the story of LeBron James returning to Cleveland in 2014, also weighs in on The Decision 3.0. Jenkins also takes you behind the scenes of what Durant and LeBron are like away from the court. Jenkins also talks about his writing process, how long it takes him to write a story, how competitive he is with other NBA writers, and much more.

Marchand talks about a variety of sports media topics, including A-Rod taking over ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecast, how he expects FOX to fare broadcasting the World Cup and U.S. Open this week, Mike Francesa's ratings after his first month back on WFAN, and much more. Listen below or on iTunes.

6. RANDOM WRESTLING VIDEO OF THE DAY: Bringing this back for the week. A couple of weeks ago, ESPN's Darren Rovell told me on the SI Media Podcast (at the 27-minute mark) that he thought the SEC should've stepped in and stopped the storyline where Vince McMahon was blown up in a limo. Let's relive that moment and Mr. McMahon's return.

[youtube:https://youtu.be/p1xwGm900YA]

Traina Thoughts is the best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts right here.And make sure to listen to and subscribe to the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina.

IN CLOSING: It's been more than a week since the NBA Finals ended and we still haven't heard from LeBron James. No tweets since April 14, no Instagram posts since May 2.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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