Hot Cop Haley Drew Kicks Back On Vacation After Months Of Fighting Crime, Army Baseball Travels & TX Weed Bust
Which wokes deserve to be in the 2025 OutKick Woke All-Star Challenge?
It's the time of year when I spend my Friday afternoons working on Woke All-Star Challenge graphics as we inch closer to the 5th annual.
I know, time flies.
When we started this out of thin air back in 2021, we were in throw things against the wall mode and let's see what sticks. The Woke Challenge was an immediate success. Jemele Hill won the inaugural in dominating fashion and we were off and running.
Now, people just expect their woke brackets in March.
That brings me to the 2025 Challenge. We need your help to come up with participants. Which wokes should be in? We're talking the biggest of the big. Blowhard Sarah Spain is an example of a name that isn't big enough to move the needle. We're looking for the cop haters like Mark Jones or apologist Steve Kerr. A guy like Dan Le Batard is where we're aiming.
REMEMBER: Past winners have been retired from competition because they're just too damn good at this Challenge. It's not fair to other wokes who desperately want to win this award.
Past winners include:
Jemele Hill ('21)
Keith Olbermann ('22)
Bomani Jones ('23)
Joy Reid ('24)
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com
Advice for the new dad Millennial Jesse who didn't ask for long-winded advice columns, just some quick-hitters
— A Thursday Night Mowing League veteran save some of the best advice. Let's hear from Adam in Sidney, NE:
Buy one of those little kid toy lawnmowers. Dad of 6 kids here. Nothing better than mowing with a wingman out there!
— Jeremy in Alpharetta, GA emails:
It was so awesome to read that Jesse is a new dad. Congrats! The one piece of advice I'll give doesn't apply for a while. Teach your child manners. Yes sir, no ma'am, please, and thank you. It teaches respect and will benefit them all throughout their life. You'll have to remind them 1000 times and don't get mad when they forget. Just keep reminding them. My daughter is 5 and is really starting to remember it now. You'll be so proud when another adult asks him a question and he responds with a yes sir or ma'am.
— Mike N. keeps it simple:
Congratulations! My two cents:
1. Joe is right, the first time our oldest slept through the night was in a car seat in our family room after a trip.
2. Always trust your wife on the 0-2 years old "should we take him to the hospital"... (it becomes more obvious after that). I always seemed to be wrong in both directions here...
3. Take a lot of pictures and try not to lose them when you switch phones/ accounts.
4. Start sports early (parent/ kid gymnastics, swimming, etc.) And coach as many things as you can as often as you can. Assistant or otherwise. Until 12 or 13 years old you can be a super value added coach even if you never played the sports. Good dads > knowledgeable coaches.
As Joe said, sounds like you are one of the good one and I have no doubts you will both excel at being fantastic parents.
— Brenden hops into this subject:
Still my daily read! I have some sage advice for Jesse. As an empty nester, I have run the gamut of children, navigating the marriage waters that first year, and learning to protect my precious time.
1. Understand what is sacred, and do not let that go. Translation: Make sure you respect your time as much as your wife's. It is a team effort, and the burdens need to be shared. Yes, taking a hit on your sleep for the sake of your wife's is a good idea, but do not forget that your time is just as important. Play golf, watch some football, hang with the boys once a month, etc. A lot is discussed these days about a man's role in raising children, and how he needs to sacrifice for his family. That is true, but little is discussed about how he should be treated during that process. This is critical to your marriage in future years.
2. Date night, date night, date night. Do not let a month go by without one. Spend the money on that, instead of Disney (they are the tip of the spear in the war on the middle class).
3. That kid is going to occupy every second of your day, mentally, for at least the next 20 years. You will change jobs, addresses, and hobbies. Do not be afraid to prioritize time with your kid over everything else. Working late, side gigs, new hobbies, etc won't make you happy. Your relationship with your family will.
4. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Friends, family, neighbors, etc. all have kids, and years of trial and error. Vaccinate or not? Day care or stay at home? Pediatrician? Baby sitters? What caliber pistol to teach them first? They all have experience and perspective with these matters. Lean on them.
5. Do not freak out about paying for college. My wife and I had less-than-zero dollars when we had our first. I felt like I was looking down the barrel of a financial shotgun with that. To be honest, planning for it is almost impossible these days. Even public colleges are going to run over $100k per kid. Private is 3 times that. Financial aid is real. Scholarships are real. Both our kids attend very high-level private colleges, and both schools made it very affordable. They will both graduate with minimal loan debt (we made them get small loans so they could have a stake in their education), and outstanding academic credentials. I stopped worrying when my 2nd was born. I assumed that I couldn't afford one, much less two!
Have fun. My grown-kids still act like they are two years old sometimes, but they just aren't as fun to play with now!
— Trey P. says:
To Jesse with new baby: Buy onesies with zippers, not snaps. Snaps are a huge pain anyway but especially at 3am when you’ve already been up multiple times and operating on little sleep.
— Dr. J adds:
Here’s some advice for the new dad from a father of a 31yo dad to be. Recently found out I’m about to be promoted to granddad. It’s the best.
- Choose the values you want to instill in your boy and (with your wife) decide what kind of man you want him to become. What character do you want to build into him? Don’t get too lost in the immediate struggles/crisis of the moment without keeping your eye on the bigger picture. Learning to walk, talk, feed, bathe, clothe himself is challenging at times, but in comparison to the what he really needs to know, is the easy stuff. Hold any dreams of his occupation or life path VERY LOOSELY. They are a selfish fantasy. The kid will find or make his own path that will likely look very different from yours. Don’t trust or assume schools, churches, etc will teach the values you want him to learn. That is your responsibility.
- Find a mentor who’s doing it right. One lesson I learned from my mentor is that now that you’ve got him you will never stop worrying about him. So true. The messes they can possibly make only get bigger and nastier as they get older while your power to help clean them up diminishes. Thus the importance of character, decision making and values.
- If you want to ‘read’ ahead on parenting skills, watch and read anything Dr. Becky Kennedy puts out. Very practical child psychologist.
- Remember, assuming he leaves home at 18 you only have 936 weekends with him as your charge. Make them count.
— Steve C. has a few items:
I, too, was 31 years of age when I became a first-time father. Also was a boy. That was 36 years ago, and we did it 3 times. The youngest is now 28.
So Jesse…
Take the pictures. Take the videos. Later in life you’ll be glad you did.
Be present. Get on the floor and wrestle. Play horse. Build sofa cushion forts. Camp out in tents and sleeping bags in the back yard.
Let him help you. Rake leaves. Shovel snow. Show him how to use tools and how to fix things that break.
Be certain you make your wife get out of the house solo. You take care of your boy on a Saturday, while she gets out with her friends.
He will have his phases. You’ll hope he will stay little and cute forever. Won’t happen. You’ll wonder what happened to your little angel boy when he’s writing handwritten notes and flinging those notes down the stairs and shouting how much he hates you and wishes he could move to his friend’s house up the street because those parents are so much better than you. You’ll survive. He will too.
Be proud of him. Tell him often that you love him.
Hold out on that first smartphone purchase for as long as you can!!
— Keith W. has two pointers:
I have 2 boys (9 & 7), and I could come up with different advice for all stages of fatherhood up to this point, but for him for now I'd stick with:
1. Get in there and get your hands dirty. Go change their diaper, get in there and give the baby a bath, hold and burp the baby after it feeds, and enjoy it! It's not that your job is to take a backseat and just help your wife when asked, you're taking care of your child and it's one of the best things ever.
2. Stay in the moment and enjoy all stages of them growing up. You might think "I can't wait until this baby stops crying all the time, I can't wait until he's quiet and we can go outside a play catch." Well, I'm at that stage now with my boys and I wish I could go back hold them as babies again.
— Travel Ball Hardo Chris B. in Houston emails:
My kids are 18 & 21 now so my newborn care skills are pretty rusty, but one thing I will never forget… I highly recommend the book SECRETS OF THE BABY WHISPERER, by TRACY HOGG. I am not a big reader at all, but this book was given to me when our first child was born and it helped me tremendously. So much so that thereafter I bought this book for all my friends when they had kids.
— Paul from a Sane Part of Illinois says:
I have a bit of advice for Jesse. His story sounds incredibly familiar. I was 31 when my oldest son was born. Now, it is nearly 10 years and four more kids later. My wife and I planned on four kids, but I'm too much of a man. My body healed itself after getting clipped and my daughter was thrilled to get a sister to go along with three brothers.
On to my advice:
Love your wife and reassure that she is a great mom. She won't always feel this way.
Don't stress the milestones which your doctor or anyone else says your child "should" be hitting. He'll get there on his own. Our oldest knew maybe five words at 18 months. We had to stretch words to tell the pediatrician that he was average. He was talking a blue streak by 2 years old. Also, you know your child the best. Smile, nod and move on when people offer advice instead of offering to help.
Buy the cheapest diapers you can and keep him in the smallest size you can until he starts blowing out of them. Walmart diapers hold poop and pee just as well as Pampers and they both go to the same place. You also get more diapers for the same amount of money in smaller sizes.
You won't be needed much when he's small since he'll just want your wife's care. Your time will come and you'll know when you're needed more.
Savor your time with your baby. There is no greater miracle than watching a child grow and learn all kinds of new tricks. If you find yourselves obsessing over a kid when your kid is two or three, have another. You learn to let go a lot more and care a lot less when you have more kids.
Finally, if you get clipped, make sure to take the follow up test a few months down the road. You don't want to be firing live ammunition when you think you're firing blanks.
— Dean in Fond du Lac, WI shot off a message:
I remember being in Jesse’s shoes as a first time father at age 36. Minutes after my son was born, I remember looking down at him as he peacefully slept in my arms, and my first thought was that it was cool to be a dad and that I had helped create this little human being with my wife. My second thought was "OMG – in 15 ½ years, he will be getting behind the wheel of a car for the first time and learning to drive", which sent a shudder through me!
I quickly calmed down and told myself that this was a long way off. Unfortunately, those 15 ½ years flew by at light speed! My advice to Jesse is to enjoy being in the moment now and as his son grows up.
Jesse will always cherish those memories now and later as he and his wife watch their son (and the same applies to any other children he and his wife may have) grow up. 28 years later, those memories of my son’s childhood are what I look fondly back on as I watch my son and his wife get ready to become first time parents in the next 6 weeks, making me a first time Grandpa.
Jesse, children are only young once - enjoy the ride!
— Meathead suggests:
Open him a 529 College IRA. Tie it to a large cap index fund, (Vanguard's Admiral fund for example) then put $50 a week or $100 a month into it, some small amount that you won't miss. My wife and I did this for our daughter, ($100/ Month), 18 years later there was $42,000 in the account. Makes college a lot less painful! Good Luck!
— Mark T. in Florida writes:
Quick hitting advice for Jesse the Millennial on parenting...1) Safe money on trips that he won't remember. He won't be ready for these until around age five or so. Same for introducing him
to sports. Nothing until age five at a minimum. 2) Stock up on supplies (diapers, formula, wipes, powders); you don't want to be caught short handed in times of crisis. 3) During diaper changes be liberal with the baby powder as this will prevent unwanted diaper rash, etc.
Try and enjoy the ride, it goes way too quickly....
— Gerard has sleep advice:
When your baby boy is about 2 ½ months old, put him to bed while his eyes are open. You will want to get him to fall asleep on his own before your wife goes back to work. He will probably scream bloody murder when you lay him down but just look at a watch while he is screaming. He may raise a fit for a minute or so, but he will be asleep in 5 minutes.
In a couple of nights, he won’t even say a word when you lay him down. You will thank me later when your children put themselves to bed. Too many new parents like to rock their kids to sleep. The poor kids can’t fall asleep on their own and bedtime becomes a nightmare for years to come.
— Chuck kept it simple:
"The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."
— Bear & the Philly Boys has twins, so Bear has advice:
Some baby advice from Bear and the Philly boys. As a group between us we have raised 18 kids so we have some good insights.
1.) Run them in the park, field, street anything to tire them out. When they nap you nap.
2.) Drink often
3.) Spend time with the boys.
4.) Keep the little shits off iPads and iPhones. They will ruin your kid at a young age.
5.) Little kids little problems - Big kids big problems. Don't sweat the small shit.
As a father of twins I use to ask my dad "Does it get easier?". He of course would response "Yes. of course". It took me many years later to realize that he was lying. It doesn't get easier, but I would never change anything. Time flies enjoy every minute of it.
— Rick in Brentwood, TN has advice for down the road:
Don’t let others (teachers, celebrities, the media, etc.) teach your child how to think. Guide him to be skeptical and think for himself but teach him as you go. Lay the groundwork for common sense, respect for traditions and hard work. So many professional liars out there trying to hijack and program the minds of our kids.
As he gets older, spend real time together doing things you both like. I coached my son’s baseball teams, went hunting every year from age 8, bought dirt bikes so we could ride together and played guitars together when he was in high school. I did these things not as his friend, but I hoped as a teacher and role model. I had a blast raising him. He’s 23 now and all is good. And don’t get divorced. I did that with son number one, and you really get robbed of so much time and influence with your kids.
— Andrew L. checks in:
First off congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your son.
I liked your comment: "It doesn’t have to be long and elaborate" I’m 50 years old and I have a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old and as the years tick by the more I am convinced that the secret to life is keep things simple and common sense. (you’re comment makes me think you’re on right track with your son already)
- Have patience with your son no matter the situation.
- Cherish every stage of their life. You may find yourself wishing for the days when they can wipe their own butt, do things themselves, stay home alone, etc. but time really does fly by. Right now, and for several years to come your son is 100% dependent on you and your wife and the two of you will be the only people he will want to be with…..take advantage of this time. Warning: teenagers don’t like hanging out with their moms and dads.
- Continue to rely on the SC community for life advice. I’m looking forward to seeing possible advice for parents with teenagers from this topic.
Good luck, have fun, and God Bless.
— Isaac keeps it quick:
The advice my wife and I were given when we had our first newborn is that the baby is coming into your life, so try to keep as many things as normal as you can as before the newborn came along. Of course there are limitations, for feeding and napping times, but don't become tied down completely for those things. Don't let your social life completely go out the window.
I do realize though that we also had good babies that were not fussy and we never had to deal with any meltdowns.
And when times get hard - it's only a temporary season! The babies grow and change so fast, just remember to enjoy the good times and not focus on the tough moments.
— And finally, Duncan in Georgia goes quick advice and mixes in Oddibe McDowell. That's the power of this column:
Joe - my advice for Jesse is simple - do the dishes, laundry, cleaning etc so that Mama can rest. All she’s gonna want for the first year is a nap! And obviously take a ton of pictures, they grow up fast!
Yesterday, someone mentioned Oddibe McDowell - I was a big fan when I was a kid, and he would always sign cards that I sent to the clubhouse. Can you imagine doing that now? Sending cards to a player at the ballpark, with a return envelope, and they’d sign them? No chance.
Kinsey:
I'm not trying to make you guys feel old this morning, but I just checked and Oddibe is now old enough to collect Social Security.
By the way, there were a TON of emails on advice for Jesse. If I missed yours, it wasn't me trying to be an asshole. There were somewhere around 75 emails to go through this morning. It's a jungle.
How to flush a toilet in Trepani, Sicily
As promised, Mike T. narrates the flushing. Check out that water pressure. That thing can easily suck down a case of Kirkland golf balls in record time.
I don't know why I was adding an ‘a’ to Trepani on Thursday. It's TREPANI, Sicily. My apologies.
Ski bros came out of the woodwork after Chad G. made a ‘Do Hard Things’ claim over his 28,000 vertical feet day of skiing with his buddies
— Marty from Hailey, Idaho sent me an email BEFORE hitting the slopes:
The guys at Keystone look like they are on a dad’s ski trip from the East. I did this with my buddies from Pittsburgh for a several years and had an absolute blast. I loved teaching my kids how to ski, but one weekend away where you only had to carry your own skis and didn’t have to worry if anybody else was cold, hungry, tired, or had to pee was very relaxing. That said, the boys had a very solid day and I bet their legs were screaming for mercy after that last run. Skiing with a group slows you down and you might encounter some lift lines in Colorado. They earned a relaxing sit in the hot tub and a few cold ones to boot.
For perspective, I’m retired, live close to Sun Valley and ski a good bit (25x so far this year) so my legs are in decent shape. I’ve hit 30k vertical several times with my best this year being 40k. No lift lines here and we have the highest vertical rise chairlift in the country so the feet pile up quickly. It’s a bluebird day so I’m heading off to Baldy for round 26.
— Guy G. in western New York knows the slopes:
Wife and I would routinely track our vertical, with our best day being somewhere around 35,000ft, skiing Lake Louise in AB. Having the tracker on makes the whole thing a challenge, to get as much as possible. With day passes being $150+ no matter where you go, its best to get as much out of them as possible.
On our way to any mountain, we’ll stop at any beer store, and load our packs with them and jerky. While most people carry heat packs, extra gear and safety equipment they’ll never need, we prefer the hops. We didn’t see anyone else drinking on the gondola at Jackson Hole, where we absolutely needed them at 9am! Having a lift beers keeps the body loose, without spending an hour in the lodge.
We’ve been able to ski the steepest, tallest mountain in North America over the last 10 years. Now, we spend 3-4 days a week on the local hills, as the little guys are ready for big ski trips yet. While the 5yo does well, she gets all nervous if she happens to see a black diamond sign on a particular run.
And, because GNAR requires it, I’m the best skier on the mountain!
— Canoe Kirk disagreed with ChatGPT. He says 28k vertical feet of skiing in 5 ½ hours isn't as impressive as the AI bot made it out to be:
Joe, 28,000 is not impressive. Here is one of my day stats, and that was a casual day of skiing.
Kinsey:
Kirk wanted to note that he's not ripping the group of guys for enjoying the slopes. He just wants to fight the AI bot for not knowing they/thems shit when it comes to skiing.
If you're a skier who wants to fight the ChatGPT bot, let me know.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com
Lay off the guy who carries alignment sticks in his bag!
— Alex comes to the defense of Jason W. for carrying alignment sticks in his bag:
Everybody needs to lay off the alignment stick, what is the big deal? I have one, I got it at home depot for $3 and it is in my bag. I throw it down at the range just to feel my setup and know I am pointing the right way. Could I throw a club down and do the same thing, sure but I chose to drop $3 and do it this way so I don't accidentally step on my club.
I don't think I am special or better (20 Handicap so no bragging here) It s just how I do my routine, I am sure I saw a reel somewhere showing this, tried it an liked it. Every golfer has a thing they do that we could all hammer on....that is the better question:
What is the "Thing" as a golfer you do when you play. Throw it out there and we will all pile on, but you can't pile on unless you give one of your own. I'll go first. I do a triple waggle with my driver when I am setting it up behind the ball. No reason why, always have done it, can't stop won't stop.
— Alignment Stick Jason fires back at Jim M. who attacked him for carrying alignment sticks. Emotions are definitely BOILING OVER in the golf world this week:
Jim sounds like a great "get off my lawn" guy or a "my generation was better" guy... Our guy Joe asked for thoughts, I gave them. Geesh. Regarding the idea I could use irons - sure why not. Except the whole grips on the ground thing, moving them around maybe hitting the clubs... sure great idea beyond potentially hurting the clubs.
Besides, just go to Home Depot, find the orange or yellow poles they use for marking curbs in snowy areas - and boom alignment sticks. I have the orange ones - they originally were bought for my son as his golf coach suggested he use them for practice. We started taking practice to the range pre-round. It really isn't all that crazy an idea. My lord.
If you were to describe your NFL team using a Campbell's soup, which soup would it be?
— Tim T. spotted this in Florida. I'm not sure why they're selling Bengals chicken and noodle soup in Florida. Snow birds must love it:
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com
NFL chain gangs could've been killed off years ago if this guy's ex-wife's uncle could've persuaded Pete Rozelle
— Andy shares the story:
My ex-wife’s uncle had a meeting with then commissioner Pete Rozelle to pitch an electric eye device to measure first downs. Rozelle passed on it because he believed it would take the excitement out of measuring for a first down.
March Madness in February
Homebrew Bill in Nebraska wanted us to see this madness from Wednesday night in Lincoln:
Which team are you on to start the 2025 season?
Without Gen X, there's no Gen Z Mr. Beast on YouTube
It feels like there's some sort of Netflix documentary waiting to be made on the 1980s/1990s teen game show scene. Was Double Dare host Marc Summers as nice as he seemed? Was Bozo the Clown a degenerate gambler who had sidebets running with Cooky his sidekick?
Gen X needs a six-part series.
Outta the way, asshole (or whatever they say in Sicily)
— Mike T. is right in the middle of a Tom Cruise movie, but in real life:
Biggest market in Palermo, Sicily. Scooters ride right through.
And here's what the Ts had for lunch. Save the emails, cardiologists. Mike T. and Cindy T. are walking more than 10k steps per day. That beer and Italian pizza gets burnt off fast.
###################
That is it. What a Friday edition. I'm telling you guys, we're closing in on an average of THREE MINUTES of "engaged time" per visitor on Screencaps which is massive. To put that in perspective, a typical Clay column will have an engaged time approaching three minutes.
That type of time on a single post tells me just how engaged you are with the content and how deep you're reading into the post.
Google sees that number and that single piece of analytical data tells the algorithm that this site is trusted and that helps the entire operation. Keep the incredible emails coming. Keep engaging.
Keep reading.
Have a great weekend.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com