‘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.
First Monday of October. We’ve got football tonight. We’ve got playoff baseball tonight. I went out and piped a couple golf balls at the range over the weekend. Might even play a round this week for the first time since July.
It’ll be nice not to have to bring a towel to the tee box for every hole.
Who has it better than us? Nobody. And that’s coming from me! All my teams got battered last week, and I’m still pumped to get a new week going.
Red Sox? Embarrassed.
Gators? Really embarrassed.
Dolphins? Actually, not bad! Only lost by five to the Vikes. It would be nice to actually have a lead at some point this season, but I reckon that’ll be this week’s goal.
For now? We move forward. Let’s roll.
Welcome to a Monday Nightcaps — the one where Sophie Cunningham turns her attention to Missouri football and wears a hat that sends a simple, yet blunt message to the woman-hating WNBA girls.
You’ll see.
What else? I’ve got more ref drama from yesterday’s NFL slate, I’m still on the fence about Virginia Tech’s “missed” field goal Friday night, and things are going WELL for Deion Sanders out in Colorado.
And by that, I mean he might not make it to Halloween. What a fall from grace. Who could’ve seen it coming?!
OK, grab you something tall and strong — please do NOT make it a hurricane (heads up, Tuscaloosa!) — and settle in for a Monday ‘Cap!
Have y’all seen that a tropical storm may be eying the great state of Alabama for Saturday’s showdown with Georgia? True story. That’s the big SEC game this weekend, and Trump’s supposed to be in town.
Not sure that’s gonna happen if these projections pan out …
I’d love to see a good, old-fashioned SEC game in the pouring down rain on Saturday. I love offense. I love scoring. Trust me, I hammered the OVER in last weekend’s ‘Bama-Miss. State game and it was the most sweat-free bet of all time.
But still, I do miss the days where we’d get a nice 20-17 slugfest. We rarely get those anymore. Keep on eye on this one ahead of Saturday.
And that ends our meteorological portion of today’s class! You are welcome.
Now, let’s get the week started with Sophie Cunningham wearing a simple “WOMAN” hat to Saturday’s homecoming drubbing in Colombia:
What a hat. I can’t even imagine the insufferable coach of the Minnesota Lynx stumbling upon those pictures today. She’d probably faint.
“No Cis, just …” on the side, and “WOMAN” in the front … just the perfect hat for Sophie Cunningham. Even in the offseason, she’s three steps ahead of the other side. I have a feeling Sophie’s about to take it up a notch over these next few months.
Stay tuned.
PS: Sophie’s Tigers absolutely rolled my Gators on Saturday. Typical letdown game for a Florida team the national media just spent a week drooling over. Reminded me of the Dan Mullen years. Disgusting.
OK, let’s go from one ugly Saturday performance to another, and check in with the state of Colorado athletics.
Hey, Deion Sanders … what’s wrong with the fellas?
“You know what it is. If I say it, you’re gonna run with it, you know darn well what it is,” Sanders exclaimed after he was asked what was wrong with the offense. “Write it yourselves… It’s blatant… I’d respect ya’ll a lot more if you said it yourself.”
Yeah, the wheels are just about all the way off in Boulder. Remember a few years ago when Colorado briefly had the football world in the palm of its hand for about half a season? What a time to be alive.
The Buffs stunk last year, and they’re 2-3 so far this season. Sanders kicked three players off the team last week. His five-star QB mysteriously didn’t play last weekend. The offensive line can’t protect anyone, which has been a running theme under Sanders in Boulder.
It’s a mess …
But not as big a mess as what’s going on in LA right now!
Let’s rapid-fire this Monday class and get ready for a big night of playoff baseball and NFL football. First up? The 0-4 Los Angeles Chargers!
Not the loudest endorsement for Mike McDaniel I’ve ever seen …
Look, I watched McDaniel’s offenses for four years in Miami. At times, it was a fairytale. The 2023 Miami Dolphins gave me the most enjoyable season I’ve ever had as a Dolphins fan, which isn’t saying much given the organization has stunk my entire life.
When it works, it really works. But when it doesn’t? It’s unfathomably miserable. That’s where the Chargers are today.
There’s no way the Chargers can Jim Harbaugh, right?
… Right?
Next? A couple musings from over the weekend, and they all involve the refs. First? These two moments from yesterday were insane to watch, and probably deserve a deeper look:
I watched the Vikings one happen live, and couldn’t figure out what was going on. The guy was clearly pushed into him. That’s gonna happen in football games when you’re literally in the trenches with 10 other 300-pound dudes trying to kill each other.
What’s he so upset about?
The ref snapping at Trey McBride in the Cardinals game was wild. Never seen that before. If a player did that to a ref, he’d probably be suspended. He’d certainly be fined out the wazoo. Let’s see if Goodell has the stones to do the right thing here.
Finally, I know this happened last Friday, but I need everyone’s opinion on the controversial field goal from Friday night in Blacksburg.
Was this good, or not?
I wrote about that Saturday morning, and received dozens of responses. Everyone is on the fence. I still think he made it.
What do y’all see there? Let me know!
OK, that’s it for today. Good start to the week. Strong start to October. Let’s keep this train rolling into a big Monday night.
Here’s Maggie Sajak gearing up for a new season of the ‘Wheel’ on the way out.
