Boston Globe
Traina Thoughts: Tom Brady Had a Very Active First Day on Twitter
1. Tom Brady was one of the last sports superstars holding out on joining Twitter—until Monday.
The six-time Super Bowl winner has been active on Instagram and God-awful Facebook for a while, but for some reason he decided to join the wild fray on Twitter and he had a busy first day.
Brady racked up 304,000 followers on Day 1. He followed 100 people.
His first follow was TB12Sports, his second follow was the New England Patriots and his third follow was his wife, Gisele Bundchen. Hopefully that didn't cause any trouble on the home front.
Brady also followed a bunch of teammates, NFL players and athletes from other sports. There was no follow for his alleged friend in the White House. He also gave us some insight into his musical tastes because he followed Drake, Pharell, Bruno Mars, U2 and Justin Timberlake.
The Pats QB caused a stir with this first tweet because he went for a really lame attempt at April Fool's humor. However, Brady quickly realized the error of his ways, so we commend him for that.
Then he spent the rest of his Twitter day interacting with The Rock and Rickie Fowler because the trio all work for the same product company.
Of course, Tommy didn't get to be the best of all time by being unaware. His best tweet came when he responded to former teammate Donte Stallworth about what Twitter is like on a day-in, day-out basis. Clearly, Tom did his research before joining.
After a rocky start, it was nice to see Brady bounce back with that strong finish.
2. Here's what Brady has to look forward to on Twitter. Jets running back Le'Veon Bell put out some new music yesterday and asked for reviews on Twitter. Chargers wideout Keenan Allen responded by letting Bell know his music was trash and then the two went at it.
3. On Monday, I complained about the trend of new sportsbooks offering random refunds on losses. Today, we have a positive gambling trend. NBC Sports Philadelphia will air a second broadcast of Wednesday's Sixers-Hawks game that will be dedicated to betting. Yes, yes, yes! Let's hope all networks and all sports jump on this bandwagon.
4. Here's a guy who made a painting of The Rock USING A DUMBELL!
5. ESPN's High Noon played an April Fool's prank Monday that caused major confusion. Will Cain was in for Bomani Jones to co-host with Pablo Torre. As soon as the show began Jones came out and told Cain, "April Fool's" and he was hosting the show. Cain seemed confused and angry and left the set.
Some blogs picked up the story, but then Cain ranted against those sites because they missed the whole gag and Cain was in on it.
So, if Cain was in on it, who exactly was ESPN trying to "get?" The High Noon audience, whose reaction no one on earth could see? What was the payoff supposed to be? I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but isn't the point of a prank that you see the reaction of who you are pranking?
This is just more proof that April Fool's is the dumbest thing ever.
6. The latest Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features an interview with Darren Rovell. The senior executive producer for the Action Network talks about whether it was difficult to leave ESPN for his new company, the challenges of working for a startup, his daily responsibilities, what he’s learned about gamblers, whether he likes sportsbooks offering refunds for losing wagers, what gamblers want from media outlets that cover gambling, remaining in the sports business world, his reaction to Zion Williamson’s shoe exploding, whether Tony Romo is worth $10 million per year, and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: The WWE announced Monday that Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next week. Ironically, the biggest moment Beefcake was ever involved in had nothing to do with him.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustarted Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina. You can also follow on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: Can't say I ever would've guessed the main event on the Monday Night Raw before WrestleMania would've been Baron Corbin vs. Rey Mysterio.
