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LeBron James vs. Courtside Karen Brings Out Some of the Internet's Best Work: TRAINA THOUGHTS

A roundup of social media’s best Courtside Karen work.
Jimmy Traina|
LeBron James vs. Courtside Karen Brings Out Some of the Internet's Best Work: TRAINA THOUGHTS
LeBron James vs. Courtside Karen Brings Out Some of the Internet's Best Work: TRAINA THOUGHTS

1. I really, really, really didn’t want to write about the couple who got thrown out of Monday night’s Hawks-Lakers game after trash talking LeBron James. I hate giving people like that attention and I have a lot more I’d like to say about the husband and wife, but none of it is publishable on SI.com.

As someone tweeted me, the woman who engaged with LeBron will probably end up on Tucker Carlson’s show to talk about “being censored” and do a bunch of talk shows and milk this for everything it’s worth. The whole thing is just gross.

However, once LeBron spoke after the game about the incident and dropped his tweet about the matter, I looked through some of the replies and checked out what people on Twitter were saying. I was impressed with the creativity and couldn’t help but laugh at the jokes about the woman now known as "Courtside Karen." So I felt it was my duty to share some of the funnier and more creative things I came across.

If you’re unfamiliar with the incident, this is a solid breakdown:

And this right here is just flat-out outstanding internetting:

Here is a round-up of social media’s best Courtside Karen work.

2. This is actually a fun Brady vs. LeBron angle. Which superstar has been watched by more TV viewers over his career?

3. This is big news.

4. One of the more underrated sports conspiracy stories that crop up regularly are accusations of people using burner Twitter accounts. Golfer Patrick Reed is the latest athlete to face such accusations and his lawyer even had to issue a denial. What a world.

5. We released a bonus SI Media Podcast late Friday afternoon with WWE superstar Roman Reigns.

The universal champion pulled no punches in responding to recent claims made by the Undertaker and Bill Goldberg that today's WWE wrestlers are "soft." Reigns also explains why he thinks the superstars of today have it tougher than those who performed during the company's Attitude Era. Reigns discussed his long-awaited heel turn and how that has gone for him, why this WrestleMania may not be right for a match against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and whether he has any concerns about performing in front of fans at WrestleMania during the pandemic. The man known as "The Head of the Table" also talks about what it's like to be the father of not one, but two sets of twins and gives a Bucs-Chiefs Super Bowl prediction.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.

You can also watch the podcast on YouTube.

6. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I thought I was already impressed enough with the internet after its work on the LeBron vs. Courtside Karen incident, but then I came across this video that combines soft, calming music with various Joe Buck calls from over the years, and now I'm speechless.

7. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: I was invited on Chris Long's Green Light Podcast on Monday to discuss Super Bowl prop bets. Naturally, the length of the national anthem was a big topic. Long mentioned this rendition from Aaron Neville and Aretha Franklin at Super Bowl XL, which I had trouble remembering, so I checked it. Those end notes must have caused havoc for the people who bet the over/under on the song's length.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram

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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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