Amanda Casey Vance Starts Football Season As No. 1 Ranked Betting Influencer, Sydney Smith Fires Shots & Man Still Lives In Iron Lung
The NFL is back, gambling is back, and Amanda Casey Vance -- the world's No. 1 handicapper influencer -- is also back.
What a time to be alive. What a day!
We've waited six long months for tonight -- the Hall of Fame game. Otherwise known as the preseason opener we all look forward to only to flip it on, watch two series and then go and do something else while it transitions to nothing more than background noise for the rest of the night.
But hey, I'd take an NFL game as background noise over HGTV any day of the week and twice on Sundays (Thursdays?). And by the way, you bet your ass I'm putting some money on this bad boy.
Amanda Casey Vance tells me preseason betting is ripe for the picking, so I'm riding and dying with FAU's most famous gambler.
You will, too.
What else do ya'll wanna talk about as we anxiously wait for Zach Wilson's first interception of 2023 mixed in with three straight hours of Aaron Rodgers talk? We have an absolute war brewing down in the college ranks that we need to dig into between Olivia Dunne and Sydney Smith.
That sounds like something we should address since Nightcaps did, in fact, identify Sid the Kid months ago.
Oh yeah! There's also some dude out in Texas still using an iron lung in 2023. True story. We obviously have to talk about that. Hope you're not claustrophobic.
Anything else on your minds today? It's National Grab Some Nuts Day (seriously), so maybe we'll somehow work that in throughout class? Don't know how yet, but I'll figure it out.
So let's break open a can of Planters and settle in. It's a Thursday Nightcaps -- Hall of Fame Game edition!
Amanda Casey Vance starts out football season on a heater
We finally have a kickoff in a few hours after six long months, so I'm gonna cut straight to the chase. I first discovered FAU Amanda during the Owls' Final Four run last spring, and she's taken off like a rocket ship ever since.
And that was before we even got into football season! I'll be honest, I don't gamble much outside of NFL and college football. I'm a big NRFI guy and hit a couple big ones last weekend, but that's about it.
But now that football is back? Buddy, buckle the hell up. I'm all in, especially now that we have the World's No. 1 Handicapper Influencer on our team. I love OutKick's Geoff Clark -- he's actually probably the funniest dude on the site -- but even Geoff would agree that Amanda has an edge over him.
Anyway, all that to say our girl is more than ready for football season, too, and celebrated accordingly.
Let's all remember these iconic Hall of Fame game plays
Like 10-7 for the Dolphins? I'll take it. I believe that also means Amanda Vance is taking the over on their season win total, for those of you looking for a little futures action.
Let's now go back to the past ahead of tonight's huuuuuuuge game. I wrote about this last year, and I stand by it a year later -- there have been some FIRE plays in the HOF game. Seriously.
Honestly, there's always a good chance for some chaos up in Canton because it's just a field full of fellas trying to make the team. Wacky things tend to happen when that's the case, and -- sure as sh*t -- they have!
Here are a couple iconic ones:
Sydney Smith fires off a missile at Olivia Dunne
That last play is still mesmerizing to this day. Still shocked the Titans actually thought it was smart to break out a fake punt play in the preseason. That probably would've been better served in Week 6, but what do I know?
Unreal throwbacks, though. Insane.
Speaking of flaming hot things, how about the fire we have roaring down in the college gymnast ranks? I wrote about it this morning, but since Sydney Smith is a Nightcaps OG, I felt it needed to be addressed here, too.
Bottom line? Smith took a flamethrower to Olivia Dunne on TikTok today, calling her out for copying her content. It was an absolutely vicious troll from the Southern Connecticut State star, and certainly brought this rivalry to the next level.
Has me torn, too. I'm a big fan of both. I used to root for Sid the Kid because she seemed like the underdog back in the spring, but now her following has exploded and I don't know who to root for.
As I said this morning, though, as long as nobody sides with insufferable Breckie Hill, you're good with me. In a world filled with Amanda Vances and Breckie Hills, please be FAU Amanda. Trust me.
Texas man continues to crush an iron lung
What a statement there from Sydney Smith, too. Did NOT see it coming. Now you know, do with that info what you wish.
You think Sid the Kid even knows what an iron lung is? No shot. Hell, I barely do and I'm over 30.
So, imagine my surprise when I found out today that a Texas man STILL lives in one! True story. Gives me the shivers just looking at it.
Paul Alexander was just 6 years old when he was struck down by polio, which left him paralyzed from the neck down.
He was rushed to Parkland hospital in Dallas and had an emergency tracheotomy, but was left encased in an iron lung machine where he has spent the majority of his life.
Paul hasn't let the iron lung slow him down and over his lifetime. He has been on planes, lived alone, fallen in love, prayed in church, visited the ocean and even found himself in a strip club.
At 77 years old, he is one of the last people in the world to still use an iron lung, and he relies on it almost-exclusively to breathe.
Insane. I can't imagine living in that thing for 70+ years. I don't think I could do it for 70 minutes. I used to get MRIs all the time back when I was half an athlete, and it took everything in my power to make it 30 minutes in that thing.
For those like me who truly don't understand what Polio was back in the 1950s, these 7 minutes are worth your time while you're sitting on the john.
Makes the COVID hysteria look even dumber, which is hard to do.
Burgers, nuts and the Black Sox scandal
Bet Anthony Fauci wishes COVID was like that.
OK, let's now kick this thing into high gear before we miss Zach Wilson's first pick.
I told you I'd somehow work National Grab Some Nuts Day into today's class, so I guess I'll just take the easy way out and bang out a Mount Rushmore of Nuts for you guys.
You're welcome!
Congrats to you if you got that last one.
From nuts to burgers, how about the night they had down in Amanda Vance's neck of the woods last night?
Love a good ballpark burger. Even been to a Braves game since they moved into Truist Park? The H&F burger will blow your mind.
Finally, while we're clearly a gambling-themed show today, happy anniversary to the members of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox who were banned from baseball on this day in 1921.
Take us home, Carrie Underwood
Delivered to the gamblers by puny hits to the infield.
Hilarious.
Also: what the hell happened to that guy's wife?? She's been missing since 1908!
Extra credit to anyone who can find her.
Now, let's all go sit back and fire up the TV for some NFL football. Welcome back, old friend. And welcome back Carrie Underwood!
OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. (roughly, we’re not robots).
Think Amanda Casey Vance is America's No. 1 ranked handicapper? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.