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Traina Thoughts: Troy Aikman Goes All In On Doug Gottlieb's Ridiculous Andrew Luck Hot Take
1. Doug Gottlieb wanted attention and he got it.
Personally, I didn't want to play this game. I have an unwritten policy of not writing about FS1 daytime shows and hosts, unless there are circumstances where it can't be avoided. This is one of those circumstances. I had no intention of mentioning Gottlieb's ridiculous take on Andrew Luck's retirement, but I had no choice after seeing Troy Aikman completely destroy the hot take artist.
Yes, most people destroyed Gottlieb for knocking Luck, but Aikman's words are significant because both men work for FOX. When one colleague rips another, it always has more impact. And Aikman did not hold back. At all.
While I think it would be best if people ignored the carnival barkers, it's clearly not going to happen. So if my dream of not giving attention to peope who crave attention isn't going to be fulfilled, then I just have to adapt and enjoy the occasions when we have colleague-on-colleague crime, especially when it's done as well as Aikman did it.
He came right out of the gate strong by telling Gottlieb is hot take was "bullshit" and then closed things out like Mariano Rivera in his heyday with a shot at FS1. Just a masterpiece of a tweet.
As FOX's lead NFL analyst who calls two games per week, Aikman has a set of rules that are different from most of the people who work at the network. He can pretty much do and say what he wants without reprecussions. And people who work for FOX network as opposed to little-watched FS1 are going to have more leeway.
But Aikman still deserves credit for not worrying about the ramifications of torching a colleague. The former Cowboys quarterback also doubled down by taking a shot at FS1. That takes stones, no matter who you are.
2. Here's how Andrew Luck's shocking retirement affected various betting lines.
And these props came in via BetOnline.ag:
Will Andrew Luck play in a game in the 2019 regular season?
Yes +700
No: -1500
Will Andrew Luck play in a game in the 2020 regular season?
Yes +500
No: -1000
3. The U.S. Open is here. College football his here. The man who calls the action for ESPN is Chris Fowler and he is the guest on the latest SI Media Podcast.
During the interview, Fowlert talked about tennis needing more personalities, calling the sport during the Federer/Nadal/Djokovic Era, the decision to leave College GameDay to become ESPN's lead college football announcer, the success of College GameDay, the time Lee Corso dropped and F-bomb during a live broadcast and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.
4. Speaking of naughty words being said on College GameDay, Desmond Howard decided to quote Dave Chappelle this past Saturday and asked if he was going to have to "choke a bitch."
Even though Howard was trying ot pay homage to a Chappelle skit about Wayne Brady, it's totally mind-boggling that he thought he could get away with dropping that quote in this day and age. Does he not realize the time we live in? Does he not realize that using the phrase "choke a bitch" on a DISNEY-owned company would be an issue? It's stunning how stupid this was.
Howard, though, clearly didn't want to take the hit based on the apology ESPN forced him to make and then trying to throw another colleague under the bus.
5. This response by ChristianMcCaffrey to his "image" in the new Madden game was the best thing I saw all weekend.
6. The Padres hosted the Red Sox yesterday and tried to pull a fast one on the fans in attendance.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: As of 2016, Andrew Luck did not have Netflix or a smartphone. Listen to him explain to Rich Eisen what he does when he gets lost or needs directions while driving.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: I must be completely naive, because when I saw the news that Andrew Luck retired, I never in a million years would've expected that it would be taken as anything but, "a guy doesn't want to do his job anymore and he retired," but here we are with everyone analyzing his decision to death. Even if Luck didn't have a slew of injuries, if any player wants to retire at any time for any reason, I don't understand why this would be an issue for anyone.
