‘Nightcaps’ is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday–Friday on OutKick.com.
Middle Hump Day of August, folks. Two down. Two to go.
We’re 10 days away from our first real college football game. We’ve got NFL preseason action tomorrow. Fantasy football drafts are about a week away from launching around this great country. There’s a 6-way tie for the final wild card spot in the AL, and every single team is below .500.
Don’t you dare tell me things are slow on the sports calendar right now. They’re about to kick into HIGH gear.
Let’s roll.
HERE IS HOW PAT MCAFEE HAS SURPASSED STEPHEN A SMITH AS THE FACE OF ESPN | BOBBY BURACK
Welcome to a Hump Day Nightcaps — the one where Pat McAfee sets the record straight on a nasty internet rumor involving a sacred college football tradition.
Side note: Is ESPN over-serving us on McAfee? Folks are pissed at the latest development, but I’m not sure what the true pulse is. You’ll see.
What else? I’ve got Lindsey Vonn showing off the biceps as she works her way back from February’s horrific knee injury, and a full spectrum of reader emails from Monday’s ‘Best Sports Movie’ question on the heels of Hayden Panettiere’s sudden death at just 36.
Seems like most of you (correctly) agree with me that Remember the Titans is No. 1.
Most. Not all.
Grab you a soft ice cream for National Soft Ice Cream Day, and settle in for a Hump Day ‘Cap!
Pat McAfee is a lot of things, but he’s not stupid
I know nobody is here for a history lesson on soft ice cream, but you’re gonna get it anyway because we set a record yesterday in my Florida town for high temps (97!) and I’d like some ice cream right about now.
Did you know that soft ice cream is actually a thing? True story. From the AI bots who now run the internet:
In 1934 on Memorial Day weekend in Hartsdale, New York, Tom Carvel had a flat tire. After pulling his ice cream truck into a parking lot, the businessman knew his product was melting. As vacationers drove by, Carvel sold the softened ice cream to them. Surprisingly, they loved the soft ice cream! The potential for a new dessert was not lost on the salesman.
Two years later, Tom Carvel opened his first ice cream store on the site where his truck broke down. In the preceding years, Carvel patented a super low-temperature ice cream machine and created a secret formula ice cream.
While they are made with the same ingredients, soft ice cream has less milk fat. It also has more air than hard ice cream.
Who knew ice cream had such a history behind it. This is why this class wins (hypothetical) awards. You’re welcome!
OK, let’s get going with Pat McAfee debunking a nasty internet rumor that he would be taking over Lee Corso’s headgear selection this year on College GameDay.
Fake news, dorks!
How much McAfee is too much McAfee?
“Coach Corso’s Head Gear was retired after week 1 last year (Coach Corso went perfect on that day as well),” McAfee wrote on X. “I have come to a fun chapter where folks just make stuff up to make me look like a bigger a**hole.”
Obviously, Pat McAfee isn’t reviving the headgear pick. He’s not an idiot. ESPN is dumb, but they’re not that dumb.
OK, they are, but at least not in this instance. I do want to use that as a jumping off point to a larger question …
Is ESPN giving us too much McAfee? I ask because he was recently added to the Monday Night Football panel (presumably replacing Ryan Clark, which is funny in itself), and folks on the internet seem … tired:
Lindsey, reader mail & college football weddings
Look … I like McAfee. I’m a Pat McAfee guy. I contend that GameDay was on a bad trajectory until he showed up, and he revived the show. Particularly Kirk Herbstreit (even though his dog annoys the crap out of me).
I don’t mind the shtick. I think the kicking segment is, arguably, the greatest segment in pregame TV history, if there’s a metric for that sort of thing. It’s excellent. My kid is GLUED to the TV every time it comes on, and she’s 4.
That being said, I do understand the fatigue. The same thing happened in the mid-2010s with Kevin Hart. Remember that? When Kevin Hart was suddenly in every single movie for a solid five straight years? And they were all bad?
The difference is, McAfee isn’t bad. The numbers prove that. GameDay has been on the rise for three years now, and it directly coincides with McAfee. ESPN isn’t pushing McAfee to the center of the table for political points or any sort of agenda. They’re doing it because the ratings say it works.
It’s pretty simple, actually.
OK, let’s rapid-fire this Hump Day class into a big Hump Day night. First up? How about this rage-bait going viral on the internet today?
Thoughts? First impressions?
Folks are PISSED at the notion that college football sickos actively skip fall weddings to watch the greatest sport on the planet. I somewhat disagree with that train of thought, by the way.
If it’s the right wedding, a fall Saturday wedding is awesome. I had two buddies get married in October — a WEEK apart — a few years back. I was in both. Right in the middle of college football season.
Those two Saturdays were the greatest college football Saturdays since college, because … it was like I was back in college. The groomsmen sat there, all day long, and just watched/gambled on college football until it was time for the ceremony. It was amazing.
No kids running around wanting to watch Blue’s Clues in the third quarter of the noon games. No wife wanting to go thrifting right when the 3:30 games kick off. No unmowed yard staring me in the face the whole day and making me feel guilty.
Just me and the boys, watching ball and losing money. So, no, fall weddings aren’t a dealbreaker … as long as they’re the right weddings.
Next? I asked Monday if Remember the Titans was the best sports movie ever. You all had thoughts.
From Cliff F:
Without a doubt the best sports movie ever! I’ve watched it a gazillion times and will watch it again each and every time it comes on.
From Stephen W:
The original Angels In The Outfield from 1951 with Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh.
From Tod L:
Definitely best soundtrack across any genre. I’m partial to Bull Durham
And, from Chuck F:
I have to go with Miracle. No better sports story than the 1980 gold medal team.
Thanks, all! Good work, everyone. Hard to argue with Miracle. That’s up there. Bull Durham is excellent. Angels in the Outfield is a sneaky one.
Wanna know something embarrassing? I’ve never seen the original version from 1951. Only the ’94 remake.
I know. I’ll be better.
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OK, that’s it for today. Solid Hump Day everyone. Second half of the week is on deck. Let’s finish strong.
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Here’s Lindsey Vonn working in a lift on the way out.
See you tomorrow.
Too much McAfee? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.
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