Elizabeth Hurley & The Instagram Models ARE BACK, I Went To The NFL Draft & Listen To This Monster Fart!
I'm full of life this morning – the IG embeds are BACK!
The sun is out. I had a blast last night at the NFL Draft and one of the original OutKick 2.0 employees pulled off one of the greatest tech moves in the history of this URL.
Ryan, one of our tech guys, who has been around since Day One of OutKick 2.0, sent me a message on Slack Thursday just after I finished mowing and burying a guinea pig in the yard.
"Hey, I have some good news. We were able to get Instagram embeds working again. Thought you should be the first to know," Ryan wrote.
It was like the Content Gods speaking to me.
"We know summer is coming. We want you to have this gift. Use your powers wisely."
I swear to the Content Gods, I hadn't even filled the guinea pig burial plot when the good news came in. It actually felt like an out-of-body experience. I had waited so long to hear the news and had nearly given up all hope when the call came.
It didn't feel real. There I was busting ass to get that guinea pig buried and all of my TNML duties done before heading to the NFL Draft and yet here was this news that just changed my summer for the better.
Thursday will go down in OutKick history thanks to Ryan. I don't know what it took to get the IGs back, but they're loading on my end.
Please, just let me bask in this moment. Save the "IGs aren't loading for me," emails for next week. Let me have my moment.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Screencaps at the NFL Draft: They say to never meet your heroes, well, I ran into Captain Jack, whom I've been following on Facebook for years and it went great
I've now met two of my heroes in April. Last night in The Dirty D (it's actually looking great and MUCH better than Philly that's for sure) I ran into Raiders superfan Captain Jack, who 99.9% of you don't know, but to me this guy is a legend.
I can't remember the exact moment I started following Capt. on Facebook, but there was this Facebook function years ago where you could look at a world map and click on Facebook Live broadcasts anywhere in the world. One day, I came across Captain Jack broadcasting from his bedroom in his full Raiders costume and I became a fan even though I'm a Bengals fan.
Back in the day, I probably f'd with Captain in the comment section of his FB Live videos, but now I've matured. Now I respect how superfans stay married to their costumes and characters.
Last night, there was Captain Jack waiting patiently outside the superfan gate for the Draft theater. It's a gate where NFL representatives hand-select superfans they want to show on TV.
It reminds me of the Maxim Super Bowl party where models were hand-selected to enter.
As the 5th or 6th pick was being made, Captain Jack, who said he was staying in an Airbnb with other superfans, was still sitting there waiting. If he was disappointed, he wouldn't show it. There's always round 2 & 3.
Quick hitters from the NFL Draft:
- $15 for a 25 oz. Bud Light
- I believe the 275k to 300k estimates being thrown around for attendance. We entered through the gates at about 6 and security had lost control. I'm fairly sure the scanners weren't working, or they were turned off, because we just walked right through. Fans were supposed to apply for digital tickets. Nobody bothered to scan anything.
- Around 6:30 our phones started going off stating that the Draft was at capacity and they started fortifying the place and even brought in the mounted police as crowds started to surge and break through gates.
- Eventually, they closed the main gates and anyone who had gotten through the main gates were told to go have fun. The mounted police left the downtown NFL footprint.
- The chicken souvlaki was weak. I was certain it was going to give me food poisoning. Luckily, I woke up fine.
- The NFL went all out with the toilets. They're not the typical Port-o-Lets where you have to see what everyone had for dinner the night before. These are actual toilets that flush. And there were attendants trying to keep them clean. I couldn't believe my eyes.
- If you're thinking of getting close to the draft theater, you're nuts. Forget it. We were probably 100 yards from the stage, if not more. There was no use trying to get closer.
- I'll say it again, Detroit was looking great last night and I'm not talking about the NFL's footprint. The office buildings are full. There are restaurants, actual storefronts, fun bars everywhere. The D was shining. And with the Lions turning into a force, the energy is just different in The D. You can feel the buzz.
Rank the NFL Draft war rooms & NFL Draft reaction
- Sam L suggests:
Some are ornate. Some have giant white boards. Some, like the Falcons, rented a room at Best Western.
Kinsey:
Great idea. The weekend crew might have to tackle this one.
- Gary M. writes:
By the way Bill Belichick was absolutely killing it on Pat McAfee show on ESPN+
I only watched about 10 minutes but he was fresh, honest and nonstop with spot on evaluations
The complete opposite of head coach Belichick on television during his head coaching years
- Jason DeM. writes:
This line from you in Screencaps had me remembering a gem of a video I saw years ago and had a good laugh about it again.
"It's supposed to be the low 50s and nice tonight in the D."
Kinsey:
I have to say, I've never seen this gem, but what a throwback. I just assumed anything uploaded to YouTube in 2008 had been deleted by now.
Tesla Don had people fired up this week
- Dan in Wisconsin writes:
Don in Lake Orion MI is freaking full of shit!! Canoe Kirk's assessment of the Tesla in your trip to Augusta was spot on. My wife and I own an electric vehicle, so I have street cred! Ask Don about "range anxiety". We have owned our EV for roughly 18 months....never again.
Bought it because I am a capitalist, support Trump, but not necessarily his behavior. It's great for my wife to go play tennis at her club, salon for hair and nails, groceries etc. Kilowatts are far cheaper than gas. BUT, BUT....January 2024 and its 10 degrees, went 2 blocks and lost 20 miles in range capacity; Drive 70 mph on the freeway and unlike a gas car that is more efficient the EV sucks up battery shortening your range.
Unless you plan 4 hour stops, an EV is useless on longer trips. Yes, we are saving money on short trips locally and have an in house charger, but simply put it's a glorified golf cart for the Villages!
- Jim in San Diego writes:
Meh – if Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, et al, decide to go all-electric, someone else will jump into the game and offer customers what they actually want. In fact, it looks like independent rental outlets already as a group are the No. 2 largest provider in the US, after Enterprise: The 10 Largest Car Rental Companies In The United States - Zippia
All I can figure is that Ford, GM, etc., have convinced the big fleet rental companies to all-electric because that’s the only way Ford, GM, etc., can possibly meet the ridiculous e-vehicle sales quotas that the feds and California have imposed on them. Private citizens who want the moral posturing a Tesla provides have already bought an e-car to make their statement.
- AL from CO says:
They aren't "car guys," they're tech bros. And as such their car advise shouldn't be trusted any more than my opinions on computing.
This isn't really for 'caps (huge fan, by the way), I'm just passing it along:
The only honest Tesla review ever written should be mandatory reading for anyone cinsidering buying a car in 2024. Of course it had to be done independently after this guy (who was the best in the auto-journo business but got ousted for "wrong think" about COVID, amongst other topics, in a real-life version of the "Jordan was serving an NBA suspension when he played baseball" conspiracy).
Check it out if you have a minute - especially read it if you have any delusions that Teslas function even as good as your 2002 Civic in real-world, non-commuting situations - it's journalism as it should be; informative, entertaining, and unafraid to speak truth to power/take on hive minded groups out there spinning a narrative that just isn't true in the real world, no matter how much they'd like it to be (as you have with the whole dudes playing girls sports thing).
https://www.avoidablecontact.com/p/rental-review-2022-tesla-model-y?utm_source=publication-search
Baseball, blackouts and dessert
- Barry in Kingston Springs, TN writes:
I just had to respond to all of the baseball information being shared in Screencaps.
I am 72 and became intrigued with baseball when I got a transistor radio when I was around ten years old.
I was raised in Memphis, TN and was able to pick up KMOX out of St. Louis. Stan Musial was my hero until he retired in 1963. The 1964 team eeked its way into the World Series that year and was pitted against the Yankees. I knew the lineup of the Yankees and the Cardinals. I still, to this day, know the lineup for the Cardinals. Even though they have fallen badly, I just can't quit loving them.
My neighborhood had dozens of kids my age and we played football, basketball, wiffle ball, baseball, kickball, etc. Since all moms, in those days, kicked us out of the house early it was so easy to get a game together. It gives me great joy to know your kids are still out making up games in a field. Great way to grow up.
I coached little league baseball, grammar school football, and middle school soccer back when I was a younger man. Bless your heart for giving to these children.
Now back to the 64 series. The Cards won that series. I was twelve and an eternal fan of the Red Birds. The teachers at Graceland Elementary would roll in the TVs for those Series games back then. What a life.
I have since attended games, from beginning to end, in 36 MLB ballparks. The last was the Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX. That was last June. Mrs. M went on that trip.
My favorite Park is PNC in Pittsburg. When we walked in the main gate there were sous chefs (three of them) preparing Bananas Foster - at a fricking baseball game. Wild.
Kinsey:
Barry, I can report that Screencaps Jr. told me this morning before school that he and his buddies threw a baseball for an hour and a half last night in our front yard while I was at the Draft.
No windows were broken and they didn't leave a dead patch in the yard, but it wouldn't have been a big deal because I've heard from so many of you who say you miss the dead spots in the yard left by the kids.
Kids throwing batting practice and creating game situations
- Paul in Raleigh writes:
Enjoy your columns and the community responses and especially your coaching updates; lots of fun. Decades ago when I coached kids this age I needed batting practice help. My 40-year-old arm was not built to pitch 10-15 pitches to kids who where 5’0" to 5"8" and several required many more pitches since they were just learning how to hit the ball.
I decided to test out kids who wanted to pitch or who I thought could pitch during practice. You find out who can throw strikes and it is often the catchers who can do this, so it was not unexpected that your catcher wanted to do this. In terms of keeping them engaged we did situational drills towards the end of practice.
We placed 9 in the field and coach hit the ball. Other team members were runners. They required fielding and learning the cutoffs. As coaches we could set up man on second, first open and one out.
Ask what do we do if the ball is hit to you? Can set up numerous situations and it worked. Rarely did we ever throw behind advancing runners because we knew to hit the cutoff men in real games. 12 year olds are great age. 13+ is a challenge. Good luck!
Kinsey:
We're working up to all of this. At this point, I've had the kids for 4 ½ hours of practice in three weeks. Next up: Brent P. in Indiana's baseball drill.
- Brent P. writes:
I have the perfect drill for this age group. It was one of my favorites. I ran this drill with my oldest son’s travel team and it looks and runs a lot smoother with kids that eat/sleep baseball. However, I also have two boys that were on the opposite end of that spectrum and I coached them in their rec league. I ran this drill at every practice and at first it is clunky and hard to watch. But as we got deeper into the season they would eventually get it.!"
The setup:
On defense, you have shortstop, first baseman, third baseman and catcher. On offense, you have runners at first and third, and batter-runner who is placed at the back of the batters-box.
Execution: Coach hits a ground ball to the shortstop, on the crack of the bat the batter-runner heads to first and the runner at first runs to third. The short-stop attempts the put-out at first. After the catch the first basemen attempts the put-out at third. In the meantime your third base coach will send the runner on third base home AFTER the first baseman catches the throw from the shortstop. After the third baseman receives the throw from first baseman and attempts the swipe tag he then attempts the put-out at home.
In one crack of the bat you have utilized seven of your players in one drill. After the play is over, the runner at first is now at third and the batter-runner is now at first and you start over with a new batter-runner at the back of the box. I hit five ground balls to the shortstop and then rotate him to third, the third baseman becomes a runner and the first baseman becomes the shortstop, place one of your original runners as the new first-baseman.
Also, place a bucket of baseballs at first and third base in case of errant throws. The fielder is not to chase the ball down but reach into the bucket to continue the play.
Note:
- The most important part of this drill is not making outs, that is just the icing. However, it is to teach the players that the play is not over until it is over.
- You can teach the catcher where to stand to retrieve the throws at home.
- This will teach players how to apply a tag on runner sliding into a base
- You can have one dad focusing on the runners and teaching slide techniques at third and home
- This will teach players to listen to third base coach
- Put your studs on defense first so the rest of the team gets the gist of the drill.
- You may not get everyone on defense the first couple of times you do the drill.
I remember during a real game a similar situation arose and we made an out at first, not attempt to third, but made the out at home. After completion of the play heard one of the dads that helped out all season yell "that is the drill."
Who's hungry?
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That's it for this beautiful Friday morning with temps expected to rise near 70. The freshly-mowed lawn looks spectacular. The arbs are shining. The Instagram embeds ARE BACK. You're not going to send emails complaining about embeds today!
Life is back to normal. I couldn't be happier.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com