1. Aaron Rodgers will be a Hall of Fame quarterback who (as of now) has won one Super Bowl. But it seems he’s now known more for his famous darkness retreat than anything else.
During Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game between the Jets and Browns, the lights went out for several minutes, and NBC’s cameras caught New York’s new quarterback sitting on the sidelines in the dark.
Major heavy hitters across the sports media landscape immediately fired up the Twitter app (Twitter is what I will always call it) and made the same exact joke.
Even Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, who called the game, got in on the action.
"We gotta blame Aaron (Rodgers)."- Cris Collinsworth
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 4, 2023
"We're out on a darkness retreat."- Mike Tirico 😂🏈🎙️ pic.twitter.com/yQu7ZDEIlY
Darkness retreat. pic.twitter.com/f0z72n8gaU
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) August 4, 2023
Aaron Rodgers back in the darkness retreat 😅 pic.twitter.com/A4naOrGOYG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 4, 2023
Darkness retreat pic.twitter.com/4Y0BlGCNI6
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 4, 2023
Preseason darkness retreat pic.twitter.com/cgPz6wfbxf
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 4, 2023
this darkness retreat thing isn't all it's cracked up to be pic.twitter.com/mS1TJ0PUYk
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 4, 2023
Aaron Rodgers on another darkness retreat 🤣 pic.twitter.com/dTcjNR6baH
— PFF (@PFF) August 4, 2023
Aaron Rodgers brought the darkness retreat to Canton pic.twitter.com/flN7dPkoVb
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) August 4, 2023
Many of the stadium lights are out, leaving the field in shadows. Another Rodgers darkness retreat? #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 4, 2023
Aaron Rodgers:
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) August 4, 2023
Everyone: ‘Aaron Rodgers on a darkness retreat!’ pic.twitter.com/GoDYz2vVDj
2. Stugotz from The Dan Le Batard Show filled in for Boomer Esiason, on WFAN’s Boomer and Gio morning show Thursday and Friday and did a great job. On Friday he shared a story of recently having some Venmo confusion.
This is outstanding. @Stugotz790, filling in this morning on WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio,” reveals he had $20,000 in his Venmo account because he had no idea how Venmo works. pic.twitter.com/jinFvXkvKO
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) August 4, 2023
3. In this week’s SI Media Mailbag, I wrote about the Yankees and used an image in the story from a recent game where a fan held up a “Fire Brian Cashman” sign.
The person behind that sign used Twitter to detail his night at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, which included security confiscating the sign.
Security giving me shit about the sign now. At first they said it was “too close to advertising” and reflective upon that. Then they said they got a call saying it’s no longer permitted because it’s “distasteful about the GM”.
— Jon (@JonFromMaspeth) August 2, 2023
Should I make a run for it and go behind home plate with the sign? pic.twitter.com/dytoJdZXGx
— Jon (@JonFromMaspeth) August 3, 2023
Mission accomplished. #FireCashman pic.twitter.com/dDhBGsmCuG
— Jon (@JonFromMaspeth) August 3, 2023
I felt all the love from the crowd. #FireCashman pic.twitter.com/4oBAAXWYrR
— Jon (@JonFromMaspeth) August 3, 2023
They really took ur sign man. Smh pic.twitter.com/be1Mxidphl
— Mario Gomez😁🚂 (@marioagomez_1) August 3, 2023
Terrible job by the Yankees being such babies about a sign.
4. It seems J.J. Watt has experienced something he’s rarely had to deal with in his life: being humbled while participating in an athletic event.
I’m pretty new to Peloton, so idk how it all works.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 3, 2023
But based on how damn hard this was, I NEED to know who the 7 people are that finished ahead of me on this 20 min ride…
Is Lance Armstrong in this class?!
🤯 pic.twitter.com/xBLsFR7AKP
5. Mariners outfielder Cade Marlowe hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning with his team down 3–1 against the Angels on Thursday. This was almost the perfect sports moment. If it happened in the bottom of the ninth and it was 4–1, it would be the perfect sports play. A walk-off grand slam with your team down by three runs has to be the ultimate sports play. I’d love to hear what other plays in sports you think fit this category, so hit me up via email or Twitter and I’ll share the best responses next week.
Cade Marlowe with a Grand Slam to take the lead in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/m1tHefyyup
— ROOT SPORTS™ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) August 4, 2023
6. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped Thursday, and it features an interview with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
The radio Hall of Famer talks about his future on SiriusXM and what his plans are for when his contract runs out after the Super Bowl. He also discusses that viral interview with Joey Votto, the most influential people in sports media, ESPN firing Jeff Van Gundy, the state of the Yankees, why he hated Netflix’s Quarterback and much more.
Following Russo is my weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment with Sal Licata. This week, we discuss a big milestone for SI Media With Jimmy Traina, the passing of Paul Reubens, Sean Payton's comments about the Jets and Nathaniel Hackett, cord cutting, horse racing and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
