College Basketball Game Delayed for a Truly Absurd Reason
1. Fairleigh Dickinson was set to take on Long Island University at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Shortly after 7, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Twitter account sent this update:
Tonight’s game has been delayed. Tip-off will be at approximately 7:26 p.m. ET.
— FDU Men's Basketball (@FDUKnightsMBB) February 16, 2024
The reason for the 20-minute delay?
Most of Fairleigh Dickinson's players were stuck in an elevator. FDU's locker room was three floors from the court, so 13 of the 15 players decided to skip the stairs and take the elevator.
The same elevator.
All at once.
“Apparently the lights went out, it was extremely hot in there, they were shoulder to shoulder the whole time,” FDU coach Jack Castleberry said after the game.
“There were a few claustrophobic guys who were rather uncomfortable.”
As someone with major claustrophobic issues, just reading that quote made me break out into a sweat.
Meanwhile, the players had to be rescued by firefighters.
A unique way to get to the playing floor. @FDUKnightsMBB- Harvard on the Hackensack No Marshmallows. pic.twitter.com/cf4ndM0VVg
— Seth Greenberg (@SethOnHoops) February 16, 2024
Again, for those of us who are claustrophobic—and as someone who can’t even get on an elevator with more than two or three other people, tops—simply watching that video is extremely uncomfortable. There does not seem to be much space in that elevator at all, and then throw in the fact that these are large basketball players. Brutal!
The night ended on a positive, though, with FDU pulling out an 84–82 overtime win. The FDU Twitter account also was able to have some fun with the unusual situation after the players finally got out of the elevator.
Can confirm ours works. pic.twitter.com/9o0lynzXDl
— FDU Men's Basketball (@FDUKnightsMBB) February 16, 2024
2. There has been some great mic’d up moments to come out of Super Bowl LVIII this week. Now we have footage of Niners tight end George Kittle trying to greet Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis while a fumble was on the ground.
George Kittle was really saying hi to George Karlaftis while there was a fumble on the ground behind him ????pic.twitter.com/yWIApdPs8b
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) February 16, 2024
3. Charles Barkley rating outfits of NBA stars is as amusing as you'd expect.
Chuck rates #NBAAllStar outfits ????
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 15, 2024
Who do y'all think had the best fit?! pic.twitter.com/Wlc96f3Ry9
4. Here’s some important information for NBA bettors preparing for the second half of the season.
Best NBA teams against the spread this season:
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) February 16, 2024
Orlando Magic 36-19
OKC Thunder 33-20-1
Philadelphia 76ers 31-23
New Orleans Pelicans 30-24-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 28-23-2
5. AppleTV+’s 10-part documentary The Dynasty: New England Patriots is under way, with the first two episodes now streaming. Two new episodes will drop every Friday for the next five weeks. It appears that Episode 1 kicks off with the Drew Bledsoe injury that ended up starting Tom Brady’s legendary career.
Let's start at the beginning.
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) February 16, 2024
First two episodes of The Dynasty: New England Patriots are now streaming. pic.twitter.com/iabcbz9sHZ
6. This week's episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina is an all–Traina Thoughts, post–Super Bowl edition with Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY.
Topics discussed include Tony Romo’s performance calling the Big Game, the massive confusion about the overtime rules, the halftime show, whether the game should start earlier in the day, the awful injury suffered by the San Francisco 49ers’ Dre Greenlaw and whether Kyle Shanahan made the right move by taking the ball in overtime.
Other topics include CBS’s outstanding special You Are Looking Live!, on the history of the NFL Today pregame show; whether betting on a game changes the way you watch sports; the latest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm; the post–NFL season blues; the best type of pretzel 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 Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 65th birthday to tennis great John McEnroe.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.