‘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.
Another Friday. We’re here. We’ve made it!
While the left spent all week whining about Sophie Cunningham‘s hat and firing squad best practices, us PATRIOTS were biding our time, keeping our heads down, and grinding towards another weekend.
And now, we’re here. And there ain’t a thing they can do about it.
Let’s roll.
Welcome to a Friday Nightcaps — the one where Sophie Cunningham’s ex-teammate, Sydney Colson, virtue-signals her BUTT off while also having maybe the worst career stats I’ve ever seen.
SPORTS MEDIA OUTLET CONSIDERS SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM MORE POLARIZING THAN MEGAN RAPINOE
Seriously. This is who’s telling Sophie — and white people — to shut up? The WNBA can do better than this, right?
Right?!
What else? I’ve got Dak getting heckled by an Uber driver, a referee absolutely trucking a poor soul on the sidelines, and I’m sad about Mike Ditka. What an awful year for deaths.
I feel like we say that every year, but goodness, 2026 has been a real kick to the you-know-whats in terms of death. And we still have three months to go!
Brutal.
On that happy note, grab you a slice of sausage pizza ahead of Sunday’s National Sausage Pizza Day, and settle in for a Friday ‘Cap!
I’ve got no real hot takes on pizza beyond the fact that I do, in fact, believe sausage is the best topping. I’m not just saying that because of the occasion. It’s the best, by a mile.
Mount Rushmore of Pizza Toppings to kick this Friday class off? Sure. Why not?!
Meatballs as a topping are underrated in the pizza topping game. They’re not on every menu, but when they are, HAMMER it. You are welcome!
And that concludes our Ted Talk portion of today’s class.
NOW, let’s officially get the day started with some ex-WNBA player named Sydney Colson pandering to the left by telling Sophie Cunningham and her white counterparts to PIPE DOWN.
Amazing:
Listen, if you never speak up about a d–n thing when you know it’s impacting the people that you claim to love, care about, you know we’re fighting together as a team, sister, blah blah blah, and you don’t speak up when things affect them. They don’t respect you.
They are just trying to make it.
Let me just tell you now, for real, for real: For the white players in the league, when you don’t say s–t, and even worse, when you say things that are harmful, talking about the trans s–t, nobody respects you. Shut the f–k up. Shut the f–k up. Nobody wants to hear your opinion. Freedom of speech, so you can say it, but just know people are just trying to get by when they’re dealing with you.
And you ought to be ashamed. Y’all ought to be ashamed to act like you’re cool with people, to act like you care about sisterhood, all of these things.
Again, it’s just amazing. These “athletes” are just incredible. They’re the gifts that keep on giving “the whole year,” as Cousin Eddie would say.
As Dan Z. said in the above post, let’s quickly remind everyone of the VERY HARMFUL thing Sophie Cunningham told ESPN months ago as it pertains to trans people:
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
That’s it! THAT’s what Sydney Colson, who played with Cunningham last season in Indiana, deems “harmful” rhetoric.
Speaking of last season, because I had never heard of this girl before this morning, I decided to do some Big J digging to see if her play on the court warranted all this chest-pumping off of it.
It … did not:
Well, there you have it. That’s who is calling out Sophie Cunningham. A player who struggled to score three points per game during her illustrious career in the WNBA.
Okeedokee!
By the way, for the “Sophie stinks, too!” crowd … she’s averaged at least 8 points per game off the bench every year since 2022, including two seasons in double-digits. She’s also a top-five three-point shooter in the league.
It ain’t close.
OK, let’s rapid-fire this Friday class into a big weekend of FOOTBALL!
To hype everyone up, let’s start off with a ref in last night’s South Alabama-Arkansas State game lowering his shoulder on a 100-yard kick return:
BOOOOM! You don’t often see a referee doing the trucking, right? Usually, we’re watching those guys get pummeled. Frankly, it’s a nice change of pace for the Zebras. I’ve spent all year ragging on them — for good reason. They’ve generally stunk at all levels.
But credit where it’s due here. This guy had a job to do, and he wasn’t gonna let some innocent bystander stand in his way. Nicely done.
Next? Speaking of (not so) innocent bystanders …
So, Dak and the Cowboys put up their annual primetime clunker last night, and this was the big story that came out of it …
Someone — boots on the ground say the guy was a driver — called Dak “embarrassing” after he threw two picks in a loss to the winless Buccaneers, and he took exception to it.
I say fair on both accounts, by the way. The guy was pissed. He was clearly a fan. Dak stunk. It was embarrassing.
Dak also has a right to turn his head around and get pissed. I would, too. And if the guy really did turn his head around after saying it, and then doubled down AFTER Dak looked away, it is kind of a wussy move.
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If you’re gonna say something, say it! Don’t be a keyboard warrior. Man up, call Dak out for his stinker, and let the chips fall where they may.
OK, that’s it for today — and this week. Good work, everyone. Solid week. And now we get to enjoy three straight nights of football.
What a blessing. What a country.
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It’s only fitting to let the late Mike Ditka take us home.
RIP to a legend.
