‘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.
Over the hump and safely into the second half of the week. We’re 48 hours away from college football, boys and girls. Two sleeps. That’s it.
Will it feel like a college football Saturday? A real one? Eh. Probably not. No GameDay. No Big Noon. No full slate.
But after the insufferable summer we’ve just endured, a little UNC-TCU in Dublin will be welcomed with open arms. Everyone is out to get Bill Belichick right now. Paul Finebaum has been slandering the GOAT for months over on ESPN. It’s disgusting.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Please, Lord, let UNC win. I need it.
Let’s roll.
Welcome to a Thursday Nightcaps — the one where the Dolly Parton tributes keep rolling in, both from you guys AND from Sophie Cunningham.
I’ve been scanning the other WNBA socials and didn’t see anyone else pay their respects to Dolly. Stunning!
What else? I’ve got an embarrassing Wednesday afternoon crowd out west, a loaded inbox after yesterday’s question (I knew it would be), Dolphins fans are currently arguing about the dumbest thing imaginable, and you’ll never guess what’s already back at my local Dunks.
Disgusting. You’ll see.
Grab you a regular coffee because it’s only August 27th and you have an ounce of self-respect, and settle in for a Thursday ‘Cap!
Couple things …
We all caught up now? Good!
Now, let’s get this class started with Sophie Cunningham respecting Dolly Parton with a social media post that included the caption:
“My weaknesses have always been food and men — in that order.” Dolly Parton
Wild little ride there from Sophie. What a twist at the end, too! Didn’t see it coming. Not sure what was going on there or who Sophie was mooning, but we’re all here to have fun, right?
Lord knows I’d take that over the nonsense that happened in Chicago earlier this week.
OK, let’s keep the line moving and check the mailbox before we run out of time. Yesterday, I asked everyone for their top five heartbreaking moments as a sports fan.
As expected, you all brought it.
From Kevin W:
1. Red sox come back from 3.
2. Wide right
3. Music city miracle…it was a forward pass
4. 13 seconds
5. It was a catch not an interception.
– I take it Kevin is a Bills and Yankees fan. Just a hunch.
From Matt C:
1. As a Devils fan, Matteau in 2OT in ’94. It just cannot possibly get any worse than that in sports, although Bills fans could have an argument.
2. But as a Knicks fan, Charles Smith’s missed layups against the Bulls in ’93. That was our year.
3. As a Mets fan, Yadier Molina’s homer in the top of the 9th, 2006 NLCS Game 7. It took me weeks to recover.
4. Back to the Knicks, Starks shooting 2-18 in the ’94 Finals Game 7 against the Rockets. That was our year.
5. I’ll just leave this slot reserved for Michael Jordan. It’s an amalgamation of bad memories at this point. And in each of them, it was definitely our year. I still say the 90s Knicks have an argument as a legitimate dynasty, despite no ring.
– The 2006 NLCS was incredible. One of my favorite postseason baseball series ever.
From Brian S:
1. 1987 playoffs, finally ready to vanquish the Celtics. Isiah Thomas inbound pass stolen by Larry Bird, fed to Dennis Johnson, accompanied by that Johnny Most radio call.
2. 1987 was a great year! Syracuse missing countless FTs down the stretch, then having Keith Smart ripping the heart out of its first chance at a natty with the only shot he’ll ever be remembered for.
3. Carlos Beltran, bat on shoulder, watching Adam Wainwright’s curve end the 2006 NLCS.
4. Here’s a double-dipper San Francisco treat: Lions gagging on a 24-7 halftime lead to 49ers in 2025 NFC title game; Giants somehow blow a 38-14 third quarter lead to 49ers in the 2002 Wild Card.
5. And, most recently, the Mets trading Pete Crow Armstrong for Javy “Thumbs Down” Baez. That one might ascend higher as the years continue.
– I’m sensing a theme with New York sports fans today. You guys have had it ROUGH!
That picture of Trump watching Beltran strikeout to end the series resurfaces every few years, and it mesmerizes me every time. What a game. What a series.
Who knew we’d work in so much Mets-Cards ’06 NLCS talk into today’s class? It’s why we win (hypothetical) awards!
OK, let’s rapid-fire this Thursday class into a big night of FCS football. That’s right.
FCS football:
Forget Saturday … we get 22 (!!!) FCS football games tonight. Seems excessive, but I’ll take anything after this summer.
Not sure why ESPN couldn’t be bothered to put one on an actual network, but I reckon they have to sell those stupid ESPN+ subscriptions somehow.
Here’s the real question, though: Do we think those 22 FCS games will have more butts in the seats than yesterday’s Indians-Angels game did?
Lordy. What a scene! The official box score says they had over 25,000 fans in attendance. Do you buy that? Come on.
I don’t blame Angels fans for one second, by the way. In a historically down year for the American League, they are still, somehow, the worst team in baseball. Do you understand how hard it is for an AL team to be out of the playoff race right now?
And yes, I know it was … hot … in Anaheim yesterday. The weather man tells me it was 92 degrees. The sun was out. A lot of the fans moved to shadier pastures in the stadium. I get it.
But still, it’s such a bad look for a professional baseball team. Yikes.
On the way out, I’d like to leave everyone here with another question: Do players who left a team deserve to get booed upon their return?
Dolphins fans are planning to boo the heck out of Tua when he comes back tomorrow night as the preseason starter for the Falcons …
And they absolutely, unequivocally should. I was a HUGE Tua guy for years. Massive. But then he signed a lucrative deal that he didn’t deserve, became insufferably cocky and unlikeable, and started playing like dog-you-know-what before getting cut.
He also hamstrung the franchise with all of his dead money, although that goes on the GM as much as it does Tua.
But the broader point? Yes, former players who left on bad terms should get booed when they return. Could you imagine Philly fans having this debate?
Those sickos boo their teams three minutes into a new season! I’ve seen it. And I love it.
Anyway, let me know!
See you tomorrow.
Booing Tua OK? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.
