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Mike Vrabel Bringing a Dog to a Press Conference Led to Very Dumb Takes

The Patriots coach was accused of using the pup to prevent questions about his offseason drama.
Jimmy Traina|
The Patriots held a dog adoption event on Friday.
The Patriots held a dog adoption event on Friday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

1. Following his team’s training camp practice on Saturday, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel showed up to his press conference holding a dog.

Given Vrabel’s eventful offseason, the internet wasted no time declaring that he brought the dog to the interview session to make it harder for reporters to ask questions about Dianna Russini.

Here’s a small sampling of headlines you get if you search “Mike Vrabel dog” on Google.

  • Mike Vrabel Has Invented The Puppy Shield And The Press Never Stood A Chance
  • Mike Vrabel uses adorable dog to remind world he's not such a bad guy despite (gestures broadly)
  • Mike Vrabel Under Fire For Using Puppy To Shield Him From Difficult Questions At Patriots Press Conference

NFL fans on social media shared the same theory:

Two things about this. First, I still don’t know at this point what anyone would or should ask Vrabel about Dianna Russini. What happened happened. They did what they did. I’m stumped as to what burning questions reporters would have for Vrabel about his relationship with Russini—especially in the context of football and the Patriots. Camps have opened. Football is about six weeks away. He’s not going anywhere, he’s not facing any discipline.

Second, if you have the theory that Vrabel brought the dog to the press conference so the reporters wouldn’t ask questions about his relationship with Russini, you are actually criticizing the reporters, not Vrabel, because if anyone who is part of the media wouldn’t ask a question they wanted to ask because there was a dog in the room, that person is a completely incompetent journalist.

Do people really think that the coach holding a dog would cause a reporter to think, “I really wanted to ask this question about Vrabel’s personal life, but he has a dog in his hands so this isn’t a good time to inquire?” It’s a dog, not one of his childen.

Oh, and by the way, the reason Vrabel had the dog was because Friday was New England’s annual “Pawtriots Dog Adoption Day.”

2. Jerry Seinfeld had a great take about Tom Brady and retirement.

3. If you are someone who enjoys sports betting, you must read this post. The courts better make the right judgment here because the guy deserves his winnings. He did nothing wrong.

4. Two things about LeBron James signing with the Sixers on Friday.

The NBA now has two marquee games on its schedule. The question is, when will it slot those contests? My prediction is we’ll see Sixers-Knicks on Opening Night and Sixers-Lakers on Christmas Day.

Secondly, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is still completely stunned that James decided to join Philadelphia.

5. I don’t want to be the Yankees fan who picks on the poor 44–62 Mets, but this was too good not to post.

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped on Thursday morning. This week’s show features an interview with Puck media reporter John Ourand.

Ourand goes in-depth on the ESPN layoffs, explaining why they happened and how they happened. We also discuss the unfortunate situation with Ryan Clark finding out while he was on the air that he was being let go, how the NFL Network factors into all this, why the network parted ways with longtime broadcaster Karl Ravech and much more.

Other topics covered with Ourand include the bidding war for the broadcast rights to the next World Cup in 2030, why the NBA is anxiously waiting for LeBron James to make a free agency decision, Tom Brady’s very busy weekend and the NFL’s negotiations for new broadcast deals.

Following Ourand, Sal Licata from SNY TV and The Sal Licata Show joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the World Cup final and the halftime show, a wild story about James Dolan and Madison Square Garden, Fanatics Fest, Larry David’s new HBO show, most buzzed-about New York sports event and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: This video came up in my algorithm over the weekend. I’ve seen it a bunch of times, but I still laugh at Bryant Gumbel’s reaction every time I watch it.

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 Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X 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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