Fanatics Fest is a viral moment waiting to happen considering the plethora of superstars under one Manhattan roof, and perhaps the first one came on Thursday’s opening day at the Javits Center in the Raising Cane’s activation.

It was a legendary combination of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and 500 gallons of Raising Cane’s famous sauce filled in a dunk tank. Brady, whose accuracy with a football is still unmatched, didn’t miss his target.

Gronkowski went splashing into the sauce, as Brady and Raising Cane’s owner Todd Graves joined the masses in celebrating one of the coolest moments to kick off Fanatics Fest.

Before Brady’s toss pulled the seat out from under his favorite tight end when they were both in the NFL, Fox News Digital caught up with Graves to find out how a dunk tank filled with his brand’s famous sauce came to be.

“I never thought of a Cane’s Sauce dunk tank, but partnering with Fanatics and Fanatics Fest, which is great,” Graves explained. “They’re amazing partners. One, Michael Rubin and I have been friends, and talk about business, help each other out in many different ways. A rising tide lifts all boats. Before we started partnering with Fanatics, I loved what he was doing, I loved the fanfare, I loved having sports and entertainment figure heads – everybody from Tom Brady to Kevin Hart , right? All that together, I was like, ‘Man, let’s partner. Let’s do this deal.’

TOM BRADY DRAWS INSPIRATION AFTER MEETING WITH MAKE-A-WISH TEAN HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT AT FANATICS FEST

“With Fanatics Fest, partnering with them wasn’t just like, ‘Here, come, do whatever you think of.’ No, it was, ‘Let’s put our minds together and do what we can.’ So, they came up with the idea. Actually [CEO of OBB Media] Michael Ratner was like, ‘Let’s do a Cane’s Sauce dunk tank.’ I was like, ‘Yes!’ And he was like, ‘Let’s do Brady dunking Gronk.’ Oh my God, I couldn’t think of two better people doing it.”

Graves believed the moment was going to be “legendary” and “going to be something in Cane’s lore” forever. And when the brand opened its first doors in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Aug. 28, 1996, Graves wasn’t thinking 30 years down the road two of the most recognizable athletes in the country would be making this happen.

“The crews are already so excited about it. The fans will love it. What better guy like Gronk, and to have Brady hit the target. It’s ideal,” Graves added.

Brady and Gronkowski got the crowd going with a little chicken Hail Mary moment, with the quarterback tossing some Cane’s chicken fingers into a cup of sauce the tight end was holding. But then, the moment of truth.

In classic Gronkowski fashion, he was chirping Brady from his seat, but the FOX Sports NFL colleagues knew what the end result was going to be with that. Brady toyed with Gronkowski at first, hitting a Cane’s logo just above the target on purpose, and did so again with a different one.

Then, on his third throw, Brady struck true, and all of the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Gronkowski caused a Cane’s Sauce explosion when he fell in. There was a splash zone if you were close enough, and it was a moment fans, media and everyone else who witnessed it couldn’t stop talking about.

As Gronkowski wiped the sauce from his eyes, and Brady calmed down from all the laughter he caused, Graves was right there to thank them both for the epic moment he’ll never forget.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Through growth, I have 100,000 crew members now, and we have 1,000 locations and we’re about to turn 30. For me to walk in here and see our logos up here and see people that want to come and be a part of Cane’s, it’s a dream come true. To do a dunk tank, and Tom Brady and Gronk want to do that, I built a brand that’s special to my crew and customers. So, an absolute dream. I always have to pinch myself and part of my job is doing things like this, which is great,” Graves said.

“We love what we do. I love my company, I love my crew and customers. This is just something I think we can do some fun for them, because I know how much I’m going to enjoy it.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

NEW YORK — Lost amid the headlines about Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers face this unexpected reality as the trade deadline looms: They would like to add a starting pitcher, but they need to add a catcher.

Will Smith has not played in six weeks. In a “best case” scenario, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday, Smith would miss another month.

That left Roberts to make a jolting admission, when I asked him if the team really can count on Smith returning this season.

“We don’t know,” Roberts said, “but we certainly are counting on it.”

Would it be nice for the Dodgers to get their three-time All-Star catcher back in time for October? Of course.

Should the Dodgers count on it? Of course not.

The Dodgers won’t know where Smith stands by the Aug. 3 trade deadline. That means now is the time to acquire a catching option they may or may not need later.

Dalton Rushing, the primary catcher in Smith’s absence, has a .799 OPS. Among the 24 major league catchers with at least 200 plate appearances entering play Friday, Rushing ranked fifth in OPS.

He is hitless in his last 13 at-bats. His batting average: .266 before Smith’s injury, .233 since then.

On defense, Rushing ranks next-to-last in defensive runs saved among major league catchers, ahead of only the Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe. On Friday, in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees scored their only run on Rushing’s passed ball.

In past Octobers, the Dodgers have prioritized defense at catcher. In the 2020 World Series, Austin Barnes caught ahead of Smith in four of the six games, including the final two.

In 2025, with Smith recovering from a hand injury, Ben Rortvedt started ahead of Rushing in the Dodgers’ first four postseason games. Rortvedt was a trade deadline acquisition last summer, picked up with pitcher Paul Gervase from the Tampa Bay Rays for catcher Hunter Feduccia.

Rortvedt, currently playing in triple-A for the New York Mets, fits the profile of what the Dodgers need now: a defense-first catcher with major league readiness. With Smith injured, the Dodgers first tried and then cut minor league journeyman Chuckie Robinson at backup catcher. Their current backup, Eliezer Alfonso, made his major league debut in his ninth professional season; he is hitless in nine at-bats.

Could the Dodgers pursue an established catcher, say Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins or Francisco Alvarez or Luis Torrens of the New York Mets? Possible, but probably not necessary.

Rushing could be their guy. Smith could be back.

Smith has started and re-started baseball activities, only to find out that the inflamed disk in his neck flares up.

“He hasn’t been able to get over the hump,” Roberts said.

The Dodgers are trying another round of complete rest before asking him to try hitting or throwing again.

“We felt that, if he’s inactive, it gives it a good chance to get all the inflammation out, the soreness out, the pain, increase flexibility, all of it,” Roberts said. “Then he has a fighting chance to work his way back. Trying to do everything — even at a lesser dosage — just wasn’t feasible.”

Trying to trade for Skubal might not be feasible, at least so long as his Detroit Tigers remain in the American League wild-card race. The Tigers won seven of their final 10 games in the first half, and they face teams with losing records in 13 of their 16 second-half games ahead of the trade deadline, starting with the Angels this weekend in Anaheim.

The Dodgers do not need a depth starter. However, they might do well to find someone they would feel comfortable starting the third or fourth game of a playoff series, lest they count on Blake Snell (elbow) and Tyler Glasnow (back) and Shohei Ohtani (knee) all returning to the mound healthy and effective.

Important, yes. As important as another catcher, no.

For a team that will spend almost half a billion dollars on its player payroll and luxury tax this season, its most important trade deadline pickup could be a catcher making maybe $1 million.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Kenny Omega blasted a social media user over a remark made about Will Ospreay and Charlie Kirk.

The X user made a critique about Ospreay’s mic skills on Thursday, writing, “Will Ospreay is as bad on the mic as charlie kirk, but can’t sell the neck as well as he did.”

COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL

Omega, who is friends with Ospreay inside and outside the ring, slammed the poster.

“What the f— is wrong with you? It isn’t hard to try having some class,” he wrote in response.

“A dear friend battles back from a career threatening injury, is no doubt still fighting pain today, and is somehow mocked and compared to a dude that was murdered. I get that a joke is a joke but these things should really be kept separate in my opinion.”

When one X user came to the defense of the commenter, Omega responded once more.

“Please extend my apologies, genuinely. Perhaps I’ve become too sensitive after my own brush with death. I also know of Will’s efforts behind the scenes more than most so it was sad to see such a harsh comparison,” the current AEW champion added.

Kirk, a conservative commentator and the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in September. Tyler Robinson was arrested in Kirk’s murder.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Robinson’s trial is currently ongoing.