Traina Thoughts: Gronk Stops Trade, Dominates In Week 1, Dances Up A Storm

After stopping the Patriots from trading him, Rob Gronkowski returned to dominate and dance.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

1. The biggest story to come out of the 3,921 NFL pregame shows that air on Sundays was Ian Rapoport's report on NFL Network that the Patriots were about to trade Rob Gronkowski this offseason, but the tight end threatened to retire if dealt.

After seeing the way recently-traded Khalil Mack dominated Sunday night (at least for a half), it's hard to imagine how much the Patriots would've regretted shipping out Gronk. When he's healthy, he's unstoppable. Plain and simple.

Gronkowski showed that again yesterday with a seven-catch, 123-yard performance in a 27-20 win over the Texans. He also scored a touchdown in double coverage and gave us a vintage Gronk dance, which inspired his girlfriend, SI Swimsuit model Camille Kostek.

2. Other NFL Week 1 items:

• I know I'm supposed to bow down to Aaron Rodgers today, but the Packers won because Bears DB Kyle Fuller can't catch.

• Baby steps for the Browns. Baby steps.

• Dez Bryant spent Sunday live tweeting the NFL action. 

Real fact https://t.co/VEydUUZ6bO

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) September 9, 2018

• I hope the Panthers run the triple option all year long.

• Steelers running back James Conner had 135 yards rushing, 57 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He was also still sporting his rookie haircut.

3. The single best moment of the weekend came from Kentucky linebacker Kash Daniel who celebrated his team's upset win at Florida, which ended the Wildcats' 31-game losing streak against the Gators, with a glorious Stone Cold Steve Austin imitation.

AND THATS THE BOTTOM LINE! @steveaustinBSR pic.twitter.com/eq3cfstfNZ

— Kash Daniel (@KashDaniel15) September 9, 2018

4. Another day, another phenomenal celebration from the white-hot Alex Bregman.

5. The sports blogosphere was abuzz over the weekend because Paulina Gretkzy deleted all pictures of husband Dustin Johnson from her Instagram page. No word on what's going on yet, but Twitter had no problem putting this turn of events into perpsective.

Live Look at Tiger Woods upon hearing news that Paulina Gretzky deleted all her photos with Dustin Johnson off Instagram pic.twitter.com/kDJFodyigE

— RotoCurve (@RotoCurve) September 9, 2018

Tiger being informed of the Paulina developments. pic.twitter.com/UFVOUJ8hA2

— Wes Reynolds (@WesReynolds1) September 9, 2018

#Golf
Paulina Gretzky Has Deleted All Pictures Of Dustin Johnson Off Her Instagram
However she did leave a picture of her and Tiger Woods.
Could the big cat be on the prowl.

— Nyle Pruitt (@NylePruitt) September 9, 2018

Tiger 🐅 and Paulina will make a cute couple.

— jahshua (@REVinPDX) September 10, 2018

6. Orioles pitcher David Hess ended up with a shiner over the weekend after tossing the football around before a game against the Rays.

Orioles starting pitcher David Hess is good to go today against the @RaysBaseball after getting hit by a 🏈 in the eye yesterday. #MLB pic.twitter.com/uEjiFLa2tn

— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) September 8, 2018

After the incident, Hess took the proper precautions. 

Not many highlights for us in #Birdland this season. However, when rookie David Hess took a football to the face during batting practice, then responded by doing this in the dugout during the game, it certainly made us laugh! pic.twitter.com/K8YlAG8C2f

— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) September 8, 2018

7.The newest episode of the SI Media Podcast, with former Browns ironman offensive lineman Joe Thomas and NFL Network's Kyle Brandt, is an outstanding listen for any NFL fan. Thomas talked openly and honestly about his transition into sports media, why he thinks offensive line play is ignored during NFL broadcasts, whether he regretted retiring before he could get on Hard Knocks, the Browns' quarterback situation, whether players know the point spreads of games they play in, how he lost 70 pounds, and much more.

At the 33-minute mark of the show, Brandt, who is part of the Good Morning Football cast, comes on to discuss his new show for the network, The Kyle Brandt Football Experience. It will air Fridays at 6 p.m. ET, with replays throughout the weekend. Brandt talks about how his new show will have a retro feel (think The George Michael Sports Machine) while taking a trip down memory lane to the most memorable NFL moments and focusing on the week's upcoming games. 

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes. 

RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: In honor of the NFL's return, here's the opening of CBS's NFL Today in 1986. As I said on the SI Media Podcast with Kyle Brandt, it's impossible to watch this and not get pumped up for football. 

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: Yes, the Steelers have a good defense, but if you watched the game yesterday, it just became more apparent that the Browns are wasting everyone's time by starting Tyrod Taylor (15 of 40 for 197 yards) instead of Baker Mayfield.