Australian Natalie Roser Loves Northwestern, Charlie Woods Fist Pumps After Chip-in & Dogs Love #MACtion
What is the Christmas gift of the year?
My dear Screencaps readers, I'm at a loss right now. Typically, this time of year over the last 15 years I would go onto my trusty SlickDeals.net and it would take me approximately 2-3 minutes before I would zero in on a product, or deal, that I needed to hammer.
Or there would be a product that jumped out and was a must-have.
There have been the airfyer years. There's been the Battery Daddy era. There were years when Dick's Sporting goods would run 10 off $25 coupons that I used like a meth addict loading up a needle.
This year? I'm drawing blanks and I need your help.
Which items are on your radar for your wife (I'll keep all suggestions anonymous, if necessary)? Is there a hot new item I'm missing? Are 85" TVs the new go-to gifts of the year?
Give me the lay of the land.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
• Mike T. in Eagle, Idaho sent over a link to this spicy everything 3-pack. Is this on the radar?
This is why I trust Kyle with my questions about the lumber industry
Look at this Screencaps' residential wood expert (Exotic Wood Mike is still Screencaps' exotic wood expert unless someone wants to step up to take Mike's crown) go to work doing the calculations after Lamonte threw out a Twitter challenge.
By the way, look what Kyle sent me this week. That's his new company hat that I featured on Screencaps like two weeks ago. The veteran of the wood industry insisted I receive a hat, so I obliged with my mailing address.
Now, that doesn't mean every business owner needs to be sending me hats and carpenter pencils. Remember, I'm in liquidation mode, but Kyle was a special case because he was a guy I literally pulled off of Twitter who was talking wood prices who is now a fan of the column.
Kyle never sent me an email saying he was a wood expert. I was looking for lumber prices and there was Kyle. This is just another Screencaps success story. Just real Americans connecting with real Americans.
Speaking of wood, look at this smoker setup
• Lee D. spotted this one:
Evan challenged readers to explain why they watch the NFL after all the wokeness of 2016 followed by the real wokeness of 2020
• Nick C. in Miami, FL writes:
Good morning from soggy South Florida where it's been raining non-stop for almost 24 hours.
I came across the letter from Evan G. in Texas regarding the NFL. The more I read the more I thought it could have been me who sent that in.
I too traveled the county to watch the Cowboys play on the road, in addition to catching a game in Texas every year. Bills fans were great while Redskins fans were the absolute worst by a country mile, but I digress.
When the league went all-in with the kneeling, virtue signaling, and all the other woke nonsense, that was it for me. I've never watched another NFL (or NBA) game again. It was tough at the beginning but after a while I've learned to appreciate spending Sundays with my wife and family.
I love college football (hopeless Miami Hurricanes season ticket holder), watch an occasional baseball game, and enjoyed the Panthers run to the Stanley Cup finals last year. Those leagues are hardly perfect, but they are nothing like the NFL or NBA were during that time period.
Count me as one of those who the NFL has lost forever, though I will not begrudge anyone who continues to watch.
• Louie in Savannah, GA writes:
I saw Evan G.'s question about being able to enjoy the NFL in CAPS this morning and I wanted to weigh in because I completely understand where he is coming from. I was/ am (returning) DIEHARD New England Patriots fan for as long as I can remember, attended games at the old Foxboro Stadium as a little boy and of course at Gillette. Even after moving a thousand miles away several years ago, still never missed watching a game unless I was working, and even then followed along by all means possible. My wife was a fan too and we took trips to see the Pats play when possible. I was/am the go to Pats fan amongst my non New England friends and co-workers.
Then 2020 happened and all of the political garbage that filled the NFL followed and I dumped it all. The Anti-Police stuff was intolerable for me. The Kaepernick crap started it off, then the NFL wouldn't let the Cowboys wear the Dallas Police stickers on their helmets after some of their officers were killed in an active shooter event which started me down the path but 2020 was the heavy straw that broke the camel's back. I stopped buying anything NFL, didn't watch, and certainly didn't buy Sunday Ticket.
I have slowly come back and there are two reasons, like you said today, we are hooked on the product for one. The second is my sons. They love sports and I want them to keep loving sports because I think it's great for them. The best way to keep them loving sports is to not only encourage them to play them, but to provide fun experiences. We love watching sports, year round and the boys play organized and backyard sports all the time. Baseball and soccer just ended (taking the winter off from playing) and now we watch football on Saturdays and Sundays. It's fun for us to put on our gear and enjoy the games (Fighting Irish on Saturdays). I bought Sunday Ticket on YouTube this year for the first time in three years, been rewarded with the worst Patriots season in my lifetime lol.
Next weekend we are heading down to Jax for the Jags game for my older son's birthday. Yes I am giving (lots of) money to the NFL but my boys and their friends are going to have a blast. My older son is a Pats fan but he loves football. My younger son is a Jags fan and he is very excited.
I completely get what Evan is saying and I admire him for sticking to his boycott. At the end of the day, my boycott wore off because sadly if you boycott everything that went "woke" in 2020, there would be nothing left to enjoy as far as entertainment. Everyone loves "Yellowstone" but look up the photo of Kevin Costner wearing a Liz Cheney campaign T shirt. Music? Forget it, all of country music went full liberal except for a handful of artists who remained true to their roots (and good for them).
Been rambling a while and I am sure I could go on but hopefully I made my point. I think many folks have come back around simply because giving up on things permanently that created so many great memories while growing up is very difficult. At the end of the day, I'm just a red blooded American guy trying to get his sons hooked on something good.
• Michael in Allons, TN says:
Back when the kneeling stuff started, I was a season ticket holder with the Titans since they moved to TN. I remember a Titans player being asked about the fans not liking the kneeling and his reply was something along the line of, if they don’t like it don’t come.
Well that was the last time I spent a penny on the Titans. And now I couldn't care less if they win or lose. I too didn’t watch much NFL for the next couple of years. I guess things started to change when betting came to TN and slowly got back into watching.
On a separate note. Love Beau’s emails. They’re an acquired taste like beer as a teenager. The more I read him, the easier it is to get what he’s saying and less having to reread his “sentences”.
• Jason R. responds:
I’m 100% with Evan G. I used to watch football all day every Saturday and Sunday. The protests and constant talk of racism pushed me away. Felt weird to be lectured by millionaires how bad they have it. I will still watch the Cowboys on Sundays with my dad because he will have it on but never once at my house.
I also have little very little interest in college sports, either. I worked in college athletics for a while and loved every second of it. Now, not so much. I went to a mid major with some basketball success. They have been pretty lousy lately and even their players who are losing think they should be paid handsomely. I was surprised to find out they were getting money in the first place from local businesses. As Seinfeld used to say, I root for laundry. Very few college athletes have real NIL value but now they all think they do. Makes it all feel very slimy. My family dropped our season tickets after the protests.
We used to at least pretend these guys were going to school, now it’s a joke. You should see the majors of some of these guys who will never play professionally. What is their plan for a job with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies? I almost wish the whole thing would blow up and go back to old or away. Maybe I’m on my soapbox and am getting old but I don’t remember it ever being like this.
• MP from Staunton, Virginia says:
Joe, the end zone messages are still around. They change with each month. September has the End Racism message. October is when you start seeing the Crucial Catch (cancer awareness) messages. November has the Salute to Service message in honor of the Armed Forces. Hope this helps. Thanks for the most addictive column on the internet!
• Lee D. in Florida writes:
This hit home only in my case, it was baseball that I gave up on. Grew up a passionate baseball fan. During the summers went to many games. As an adult, for years had MLB Extra Innings. Watched a game a night. On weekends, not uncommon to watch two games.
Growing up a Cardinals fan, as recently as five years ago would go to three road trips each summer to watch the Cardinals. One in St. Louis of course, one in Miami (if time permitted) and tried to hit a different town for a third trip.
The game dramatically changed for me thanks to the statgeeks. I hate them. Not anti-analytics at all but common sense, not a wannabe hedge fund manager in an office three hours before the game begins, should dictate moves made in a game.
The game went from something I truly enjoyed, the cat-and-mouse pitcher vs. batter each pitch, to slow-pitch softball where dudes were constantly swinging for the fence. The perpetual changing of pitchers each inning -- just because -- was also maddening. It got to the point that watching a game became a chore and I was left stressed out and aggravated. Personally watch sports for entertainment and relaxation, not to be p!ssed off.
Am a full-blown, hardcore proponent of the bunt, which is a four-letter word to the statgeeks. Grew up watching Whitey Herzog's Cardinals and couldn't begin to tell you how many games the Cardinals won each year because Herzog used the bunt as a tool, a weapon.
Ban the shift? BS! Start bunting on the SOBs and the shift will quickly go away by itself. Idiocy! It's like a city implementing a prohibition ordinance because a drunk in a bar cannot control himself.
"You can't ask a guy to bunt who has never bunted before." BS! Whose fault is that? Couldn't take 10 minutes a day away from fishing for snook or chasing college tail on the beach in spring training to learn how to bunt?
For me, Tony Gwynn was the ultimate hitter. Always believed the home run was the second-most overrated play in sports (the first is the boring slam dunk -- damn right a 6-9 guy in peak condition ought to be able to dunk, freaking yawn! Seen 6-2 farmboys in high school games dunk). The art of baseball was putting the ball "where they ain't" as the old saying goes. Now? Gwynn would be lucky to make the majors because he wasn't a power hitter.
Think the tipping point for me was Matt Carpenter, a dude who constantly clogged the bases, always whined about batting cleanup so the Cardinals put him No. 2 in the batting order. Cardinals vs. Kansas City. The Royals set up their defense for Carpenter with *every* fielder on the first base side of second. He lays down a bunt and it is an easy double, maybe a triple. So what does he do? Lines right into the GD shift for an out. smh
The arrogance of the statgeeks also really turned me off about baseball. Like they invented the game. If you didn't sh!t weirdo made-up acronyms you didn't know baseball and are a lesser human. Up yours! The statgeeks have fully taking athleticism out of the game. It's a station-to-station, swing-for-the-fence game. Haven't watched it in maybe five years. I find the current state of baseball not one bit redeeming much less entertaining. It's BORING! The pitch clock has helped, but as Phil Mushnick writes, it just means bad baseball, quicker.
(As a prank, once called a two-bit weekend sports radio show with three bros and a girl -- you know, token girl just because -- and raved about a player's "OBGYN numbers." It went totally over the bros' heads. The girl caught the joke though!)
Do I miss baseball? Hell, yes. Do I miss slow-pitch softball masqueraded as baseball? Hell, no!
Why I watch the NFL? Am addicted to football. It's a passion. College or NFL. If I didn't watch/listen to something because of someone's stupid, ill-informed/anti-American political views, I'd be living in the bedroom staring at the walls. People are people. There are all kinds. Always remember and never forget, people have a right to be dumb. (Interesting thing: the Bucs only had two kneelers. One was Mike Evans who apologized the very next day and never did it again. The other was DeSean Jackson, one of the biggest sh!theads in the NFL at the time.)
Not going to let a vast minority of players, many of whom are out of the league by now, take away a life-long passion. Also doesn't mean I have to buy NFL gear, tickets, etc.
The current mindless roughing-the-passer and don't-hit-too-hard penalties has done more to drive me away from the game as any kneeling asshole ever has.
• Alex R. writes:
Evan G's email struck me an I had to respond. My wife and I are big football fans but when the whole kneeling thing happened we too had a issue with it. My wife was with Evan and she does not watch the NFL anymore except casually when I have a game on. I looked at it differently, I decided I was not going to let them take the joy I got from football away and I would keep watching, I just didn't tune in till the game started and muted the voices if they went rambling on about woke things. I knew eventually, as all woke thing do, that this to would pass. What do you know nobody's kneeling these days and even the woke endzone messages have pretty much been eliminated. We are basically back to normal NFL football.
We see it in all the woke things where they scream and businesses and orgs buckle. If anything this just shows that if you ignore the screaming few they go away eventually. You now see it everyday in cities that no longer want to defund the police because crime is rampant!?! Surprise Surprise!
Evan I don't blame you for your decision I know it is one that alot of people took and I support it. But just know that if you decide to come back it is pretty much back to business as usual and your Detroit Lions are killing it! I would hate for you to miss it.
Todd Z.'s gang of sunset and sunrise haters is growing by the day & now includes the guy who invented The Gauntlet NFL game we all play
• Tim L. sings Todd Z.'s praises:
Who could possibly care about a sunrise or sunset pic you took? This is the exact same thing as recording a video of a fireworks display. It's the same thing as recording a concert. It's the same thing as insisting your houseguests look at your picture album from your summer family vacation to the Grand Canyon. It's a great moment you witnessed and trying to capture it with your phone and make others relive the experience will never be the same. Just enjoy it for yourself.
Every one of these pics looks exactly the same. Joe could just post the same 5 sunset pics every day and no one could tell the difference. Nothing makes my scroll button work harder than another lame sunrise pic from some guy in Sheboygan.
Show me your tricked out lawnmower. Show me your kooky local dive bar. Show me your beer fridge magnets. But please, please, don't show me what the horizon looked like at 6:11 AM on a Tuesday. I'm begging you.
• Ryan in Colorado supports Todd Z.:
Screencaps is my first read of the day, and I spread the gospel about this community whenever I can. In regards to sunrise/sunset photos, I liken them to fantasy football teams. Yes, I have them, but I know no one gives a damn about mine and I don't care about theirs. I simply scroll on by and it's all good.
#TeamSunrise & #TeamSunset fights back against Todd Z.'s gang of haters (we probably need a legit name for the gang)!
• Mark in Frisco, TX writes:
Good morning. Here is my morning routine. I go to the gym, do breakfast/check email, then read Screencaps. Almost every topic makes me think "I should write to Joe about that", but then I have that thought about the next topic, and the next, and then I decide I don't have time to comment on everything. That's a good thing, and keep it up. I think the first time you state "we're not allowing topic X because someone was butthurt about it"(looking at Todd Z), is the moment when your column fires up the jet ski near the shark tank.
One big topic that came to mind, though, is around the decline in enjoyability in watching both NFL and college football. I still watch, but the officiating is simply attrocious, across the board. I think this is a symptom of our society at large.
There is a growing desire in this country to try and control people with rules. The government has no problems in pushing laws(and unelected policies) onto people to try and drive behavior. The same thing has happened with sports.
Officials are being told to manage the "outcome" of the games instead of letting physical/mental superiority determine the results. This leads to ridiculous calls and confused players/coaches/fans. This also leads the officials to inject themselves into the game flow so much that it is painful to watch. 20 minute "booth reviews" come from the same trends that created the 25 page user agreements for downloading a "free" app on your phone. I'll still watch, but damn.
Just to conclude, I'm including three fantastic sunsets for most people's enjoyment. Sunset at Whistling Straits, sunset in East Texas, and sunset at Grayton Beach in Florida. Keep up the good work.
• Duane from Fraser, MI says:
Well since you still have the Sunset pics going, I thought I would add a few to the mix.
Near our place in SW Florida here are some shots I took with my phone:
As a long suffering Lions fans, gotta say, we are enjoying this ride we are on right now!
Sports Movies I like: Remember the Titans, Caddyshack, The Replacements, For the Love of the Game and the original Brian's Song. If you toss out Replacements and Love of the game as just movies with a sports theme, then add in 42 and Major League.
Be safe to all that hang lights on the house. I am too old and brittle to be climbing ladders stringing lights anymore.
• Jon H. says:
Nothing against Todd Z., but this is the view from my office in Cincinnati right now (so sorry for the window glare). How is this not going to have me breathing easier when I head out of here tonight?
Would you use drone food delivery?
Speaking of food in Florida, text group member One Leg Bell sent in this photo of his Big Papi breakfast at the Boston Bagle Cafe in Fort Lauderdale.
• JB writes:
$13.39
Sausage, bacon, egg, and cheese between two slices of a French toasted bagel. Served with maple syrup dip.
What is the current state of golf outings (from the guy who started the sunrise and sunset topic, but he didn't send in either this time)?
• Ricky A writes:
Allow me first to start with this: There is nothing easy about putting a (successful) golf tournament together.
The vast majority of you out there putting these together are doing so to raise as much money as possible for some awesome foundations & I salute you for that.
There, that part of the equation is out of the way & now we can proceed.
What's in it for me?
Thankfully, I've got an awesome group of fellas that no matter what tournament we get into, just hanging around one another is a great experience.
What's the overall expectation level when attending an average tournament out there?
I've been spoiled this year by playing in tournaments with multiple beverage carts tending to our needs with comped premium drinks, goodie bags with plenty of snacks, balls, tees, free/discounted food from awesome local restaurants, etc.
I've also played in some that had aeration done days before the tournament where putting was rendered useless, course beverages were for sale (came as a surprise after being spoiled by the previous event for a $50 round of drinks/snacks). I never judge a tournament based on weather, but perhaps what time of year you have your event makes a difference.
Typically we're paying about $100/person for our events.
Am I wrong to expect a breakfast sammich pre-tee time & a decent meal afterwards? How many of you out there don't play in events simply because they're played during the week & taking off work isn't a possibility?
We all get the long drive/closest to the pin, but what other on-course activities are you all seeing?
I've seen some long putts & a bourbon bottle putt on the practice green pre/post event which has been pretty solid. I'm sure there's no shortage of feedback out there from this group. Just curious as to what others are experiencing.
Kinsey:
Now that's a golf email.
As someone who has operated the Put-In-Bay Two-Club Invitational for the past 5 years for $40 per person, I can tell you what I offered participants in 2023.
I probably lose money on the event after all my bills are paid, but screw it, it's my thank you to the readers who have helped pay my bills over the years with their clicks.
By the way, there will be a big change to the 2024 tournament. Stay tuned.
Greatest Sports Movies
• Mark W. wants in on this discussion:
I would have to put “Remember the Titans” right up there at the top. Not only (mostly) true story, but just a damn good movie. Also, I played college football with “Sunshine”, whose real name is Ronnie Bass. We were teammates for two years at South Carolina. And he swears he didn’t kiss that guy in the locker room!
I also thought “I Am Third” was a great movie. It came out in 1970, so that may just be an old guy talking.
Keep up the great work. I appreciate all you have done to bring this great community together (even those that don’t like sunrise/sunset photos…Todd Z.)
• Kyle B. says:
I'm team no more sun-either pics, but like someone said, just scroll past.
Busy time, so I've mostly been skimming SC but had to chime in on best sports movies. I don't think two of my top three have been mentioned.
1. Sandlot
2. Rudy
3. Miracle
Honorable mention: The Best of Times
First time emailer!
• Greg writes:
Luv Screencaps…breaks up the boredom of my State guvment job. I’m 62 and moved to Tallhassee in 1988. I was born and raised in Kansas City…life long, diehard Chiefs fan.
In 1980, my senior year of high school, played football with our team captain…Bobby Bell Jr. His dad just happens to be Chief’s legend and HOF linebacker Bobby Bell Sr. He attended the games and showed us his Super Bowl IV ring. I’ve got two words for Bill’s Mafia…13 seconds. Also, NO Super Bowl wins.
As a Mizzou Alum, I have to give some abuse to Clay for the beat down they just put on his Vols. Freakin’ Cody Shrader (Div. II transfer & walk-on) becomes first SEC running back to go over 200 yards rushing & 100 yards receiving in a game! Not Bo, not Hershel, not anyone.
Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?
• Scott H. writes:
Pretty sure tomorrow will be the final TNML of the year for us here. Then raking season for a couple weeks after that as the leaves haven't all fallen yet.
Here in NH we had some Northern Lights visible this past weekend, which is pretty unusual. I didn't make it out myself to see them cause I wasn't in a good spot, but I'm curious if any of the sunset/sunrise crew snapped some photos to interject into the conversation? (also what does think about the Northern Lights?)
How can Todd Z. and his gang hate this!?!
• Ernie writes:
After seeing all the great sunrises and sunsets, I needed to weigh in on my absolute favorite sunset.
This was taken in March of this year at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay, CA. They have a nightly performance on bagpipe of “Amazing Grace” as the sun sets. Just watching it again before send this is still very moving.
I hope the SC Nation enjoys this…
I think that's the appropriate way to end today's column. You should have a nice variety of topics to float around in your head today while going about another day of life.
Here in Ohio, they're calling for a possible new record high temperature and sunny skies. Next week: Highs that might not get out of the 30s and flurries right on time for Ohio State-Michigan and Thanksgiving.
Let's go have a great day. I know you're itching to get time off for Thanksgiving break. Hang in there, you'll have plenty of times to go to the bar next Wednesday for the biggest bar night of the year.
Put in a full day of work and then get buckled up for Bengals-Ravens. Joe Burrow wore a wrist brace on the trip to Baltimore. I have a bad feeling about all of this.
Take care.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com