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Traina Thoughts: Raptors Fan Gives One of the Best Postgame Interviews You'll Ever See
1. "Have you seen him?"
That was the outstanding question an overexuberant Raptors fan posed to a reporter about Kawhi Leonard after Toronto defeated Golden State to win the NBA title. The fan must have forgotten that Leonard was in Oakland at the time celebrating with his teammates.
But you can't blame the Raptors die-hard for being a tad off. His team had just won its first championship AND he was trying to get a plant to Leonard.
Yes, the fan was desperate to give the Finals MVP a huge plant as a housewarming gift.
"When you see him," plant guy said to the reporter, "tell him I got a housewarming gift. Tell him I love him."
And what kind of plant did this generous young man pick out for Leonard?
"It's a Kawhi cactus—a Kawcactus," he declard.
Let's hope Kawhi hooks up with the fan and we get some video of the cactus exchange. We don't want it. We need it.
2. Hell of a quote here from Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke, who has no interest in throwing a no-hitter.
3. Mets catcher Wilson Ramos was in the on-deck circle during the fourth inning Thursday night getting ready for his second at-bat of the game when his wife scurried down the steps to get in the front row and hold up a sign to let him know they were having a baby.
Perhaps the news was a little too much for Ramos, because he struck out in the at-bat.
4. NBA odds are out for next season and the Bucks are the favorites to take it all.
Milwaukee Bucks - 9/2
Golden State Warriors - 5/1
Los Angeles Lakers - 7/1
Toronto Raptors - 8/1
Houston Rockets - 9/1
Los Angeles Clippers - 12/1
Philadelphia 76ers - 14/1
Brooklyn Nets - 20/1
Boston Celtics - 20/1
Denver Nuggets - 25/1
Oklahoma City Thunder - 33/1
Dallas Mavericks - 33/1
New Orleans Pelicans - 33/1
Indiana Pacers - 33/1
Utah Jazz - 33/1
San Antonio Spurs - 33/1
Portland Trailblazers - 33/1
New York Knicks - 33/1
Sacramento Kings - 50/1
Orlando Magic - 66/1
Chicago Bulls - 66/1
Memphis Grizzlies - 80/1
Charlotte Hornets - 100/1
Minnesota Timberwolves - 100/1
Detroit Pistons - 100/1
Miami Heat - 100/1
Washington Wizards - 100/1
Atlanta Hawks - 100/1
Phoenix Suns - 100/1
Cleveland Cavaliers - 100/1
5. Everyone has their preconceived notion about the WWE and its fans, but the work that the wrestlers do in the community is second to none. This is proven again with three of the the WWE's biggest superstars—Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Becky Lynch—acknowledging and celebrating Pride Month.
6. The latest SI Media Podcast features an interview with ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski. The long-time hockey writer talks about his transition from running Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog to working for the World Wide Leader. Wyshynski also discusses the challenges of covering the NHL, what the league's broadcast future could look like, the old-school blog days before Twitter changed the sports media game and much more. You can listen below or download the podcast on iTunes, Spotify;or Google Play.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: I posted a random Bobby Heenan-Gorilla Monsoon video on Twitter on Thursday and it was a big hit, so I thought I'd close out the week with another clip from the greatest broadcast pairing ever.
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: The beauty of sports is that you never know what's going to happen. Devasating injures to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson turned everyone's "Warriors fatigue" into "The Warriors will be a great comeback story next year."
