Traina Thoughts: Steve Carell Reveals Secrets From the Basketball Episode of 'The Office'

'The Office' star Steve Carell shares show secrets, discusses his Super Bowl commercial and more.

NBC

1. Steve Carell will be part of Super Bowl Sunday thanks to Pepsi's "More Than OK" TV commercial that will air during the Rams-Patriots game.

Carell spoke to SI exclusively about the spot, The Office and more on the latest SI Media Podcast.

When I asked Carell if he's playing himself or a character in the Pepsi Super Bowl commercial, which you can watch below, he said, "I guess I am playing myself, at least a version of myself. It’s weird, too. I think this goes for a lot of actors. When you see them on a talk show or when they're portraying themselves in a commercial, I think it’s always a version of who they are. It’s not exactly who they are. I am much, much less interesting than my public version of myself."

Carell also shared his thoughts on a few Office episodes, including "Stress Relief", "Casino Night" and "Basketball". Here's a story he shared about that Season 1 episode where the office battled the warehouse crew on the court:

"Between takes, Brian Baumgartner was just shooting baskets over on the side, and he wasn't even in the game. He's an excellent, excellent athlete in real life. He was just sinking these 3-pointers, like, one right after another. I went over to one of our cameramen and I said, 'Just film this. Just turn the camera on. Don't let him know that you're shooting it.' They filmed him sinking one after another after another and they actually put it in the show because it was just so ironic. Really, the best player on both teams wasn't even on the court and someone that you wouldn’t necessarily think was going to be a dominant force in the game. Brian is a great, great athlete. It was just a fun Easter egg, a fun find as we were shooting it."

You can listen to the full interview with Carell below or download it on iTunes.

2. It was weird enough ESPN had its marquee broadcast crew call a fake game that players don't even want to be bothered with Sunday, but for Jason Witten to say Eric Ebron was Patrick Mahomes's guy all season is just mind-boggling.

Patrick Mahomes throws a TD pass to Eric Ebron

Jason Witten: “Ebron was his guy all year”

Good to see Witten in Pro Bowl form pic.twitter.com/Zy4A0lYw9H

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) January 27, 2019

Oh, and then Witten broke the Pro Bowl trophy, which was funny because a) who knew they handed out trophies for exhibtion games and b) Jason Witten broke the Pro Bowl trophy.

Jason Witten broke the Pro Bowl trophy... pic.twitter.com/U3MaVp5DD7

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) January 27, 2019

3. Here's your latest NFC title game conspiracy theory.

There’s concern in some NFL quarters that four officials in NFC Championship Game live in Southern California, sources tell ESPN.https://t.co/hKTpzEt1uB

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2019

4. If you've ever bought a lottery ticket in your life, you will enjoy this 60 Minutes segment that aired Sunday night with my colleague Jon Wertheim. A retired Michigan couple basically figured out the cheat code for winning on the daily numbers. You can watch the full segment here.

How did a retired couple from Michigan crack the code to state lottery games in two states? Jon Wertheim reports on the Selbees, whose corporation grossed more than $26M in under a decade. https://t.co/NA0EiTHkS6 pic.twitter.com/k9oOzDiY4T

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 28, 2019

Meet the Michigan couple who figured out how to make millions playing state lottery games. https://t.co/gmXpRNRik4 pic.twitter.com/Nba8vYaIKo

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 28, 2019

5. This is such a terrible, paranoid look for the WWE. Based on this video, it appears the company makes fans change their shirt if the shirt promotes a different wrestling organization.

Here’s video of someone being forced to take off his AEW shirt by WWE.
Video courtesy of @m4rvelgirl. #RoyalRumble #AEW pic.twitter.com/Fy3whGzXYp

— Scrump_1 (@scrump_1) January 28, 2019

6. Great stuff here over the weekend in case you missed it. Roman Reigns will join his cousin, The Rock, in the upcoming Hobbs and Shaw movie, but more importantly, it looks like the WWE superstar is doing very well as he battles leukemia.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joe Anoai aka “Roman Reigns” (@romanreigns)

7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: In addition to Carell, this week's SI Media Podcast features an outstanding interview with the legendary Brent Musburger, (LISTEN HERE) who had harsh words for CBS's no-betting talk policy during the Super Bowl, the scene in Vegas and prop bets. In honor of that, let's remember the time Brent interviewed Eminem and so much awkwardness ensued.

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: I assume everyone is feeling good and satisfied that the NFL has admitted the no-pass interference call was a mistake?