Morgan Riddle Is Back At Wimbledon, Yao Ming Is Still Enormous, Jetpack Fail, Sipping Sangria And More
Happy 5th of July, also known as one of the cluster of days where no one is really sure which day of the week it is. And more importantly, congratulations for (maybe) making it through a day of work hungover but unscathed after celebrating the U-S-of-A for at least the last four days. This is 'Merica where we do it big or we don’t do it all.
While most of your livers are thanking you for taking the day off, we're going to continue the party by introducing Morgan Riddle to Nightcaps, avoiding jetpacks, remembering that Yao Ming's a giant and exchanging sangria recipes.
I’ll just cut to the chase since my second dose of ibuprofen is yet to kick in and I'm all out of Liquid I.V. My Fourth of July was happily spent making, then sipping sangria. And my God, if I didn’t know any better, you could've told me I was celebrating life on Mars and not the red, white and blue after about two glasses of the promiscuous purple.
Since we’ve got nothing better to do than nurse our headaches, let me give you my recipe then ask for yours:
End result of my sangria. (photo credit: my iPhone).
By fireworks time all that was left of said-sangria was some alcohol-infused fruit. (photo credit: still my iPhone).
Now, I know what you're all thinking. It was the Fourth of July - where's the beer? Well, there were plenty of those too. But the combination of 90 degree weather and a holiday left me wanting something sweet to pair with my suds.
And since I had to cross America-hating Ben And Jerry's off the list, homemade sangria got the nod.
Now that you know about mine, let me hear about yours. (Who doesn't love a little game of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?")
Send me your sangria recipes. I love the stuff and I'm thinking about keeping it in the regular rotation. My current 2-3x a year just doesn't feel like enough. So hit me with the good stuff: anthony.farris@outkick.com or on Twitter, @OhioAF.
Cheers!
Wimbledon Is Upon Us And So Is Morgan Riddle
What better way to transition from the Fourth of July then by talking about England? More specifically - the All England Club. That's the spot where Wimbledon's been played for about a billion years. And this year's no different. Tennis' most well-known tournament is already underway abroad which means the tennis WAGs are showing out in the UK. Fortunately, few of their moves across the pond take place without the accompaniment of IG. Case in point, American player Taylor Fritz's girlfriend, Morgan Riddle.
OutKick culture department visionary Sean Joseph already introduced us Riddle in March. But, Ms. Riddle's yet to appear in Nightcaps. Until now. The 25-year-old is working, per her Instagram, as the host for the official Wimbledon lifestyle and fashion series, Wimbledon Threads.
Morgan Riddle at Wimbledon '23. (Photo credit: Morgan Riddle Instagram, @moorrgs.)
Morgan has more than 380k TikTok followers and another 160k fans on Instagram. A quick trip through her socials confirms that regardless of what goes down on the grass courts, Taylor Fritz will leave Wimbledon a winner.
Morgan Riddle at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage).
Look Up, Wembanyama - Yao Ming Is Still Enormous
As OutKick's Mark Harris told us this morning, top overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama continues to dominate the NBA's headlines, maybe even a little too much.
Everyone is fixated on Wemby's size - 7-foot-3 and 1/2 inches - but he would actually look up to another giant former No. 1 pick, Yao Ming. Over the weekend, the 42-year-old Ming was spotted in an airport and it took just 20 seconds of video to remind everyone just how enormous he is. Ming is 7-foot-6. His head nearly touches the airport's ceilings.
Extremely tall people like Ming fascinate me. I can't get enough glimpses of giants standing next to everyday people and things. Maybe it's because I'm the opposite of tall. Anyways, this video sent me down a Yao Ming rabbit hole, sangria in hand. Hope you enjoy the show as much as I did.
You're welcome for that.
Double Check Those Jetpacks
Let's keep this ride around the world going by talking jetpacks. If for some reason you weren't watching the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix (sounds ludicrous not to have been dialed in, I know), you missed a pre-race jetpack fail.
The jetpack rider/pilot/volunteer/captain (I have no idea what to call them) looked like he was heading for a grand entrance before he went crashing to the ground then rolling across the track. Tough look. Fortunately the jetpack wearing man walked away with seemingly nothing other than his ego bruised.
Let this by a lesson to all the aspiring jetpackers out there - before you take flight, study some Kenny Powers tape beforehand.
Speaking Of Kenny Powers...
Kenny Powers loves three things: women, America and making an entrance. Though others have tried to enter the diamond with the same crowd-pleasing bravado as Powers - including hoverboards - no one's been able to come close to Powers' theatrics.
Mariano Rivera wishes he could've pulled that off.
Don't Forget About Joey Chestnut
Since we're now on the subject of entrances, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Joey "Jaws" Chestnut amongst the greats.
While we were busy loading up on Roman candles, ignoring sunscreen and prepping our sangria, Chestnut, again, put the weight of a nation on his back and dominated the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest for a 16th time.
Before doing so, he entered the gates of stomach Hell in electric fashion.
Let this be a reminder, real heroes don’t wear capes, they wear oversized Nathan’s hot dog eating contest shirts.
There goes my hero... Joey Chestnut. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images).
McDonald's Has Your Wedding Menu Covered
If hot dogs and hangovers are for the Fourth of July, Big Macs and indigestion must be for wedding night, right?
According to The Sun, McDonald's is helping to make wedding planning that much easier by eliminating the fuss of deciding and paying for a menu. The golden arches are now offering a wedding catering package that includes 100 chicken burgers and 100 boxes of McNuggets or 100 cheeseburgers and 100 chicken fingers.
I know what you're thinking: Where do I sign up?
Sadly, this box of love is currently only available in Indonesia.
Mickey D's requires the bride and groom to purchase at least 200 items in order to take advantage of their wedding package. Prices start at 185 euros, which is roughly $200. McDonald's is using the slogan: "Make wedding moments unforgettable," with their wedding packages.
What a damn promotion. I can't believe the wife and I missed out on this. If I had it do again, we'd elope in Indonesia with a couple Filet-O-Fish, handfuls of fries and some sangria.
I guess I'm a bit of a romantic, what can I say?
'Always Sunny' Couple Talks Whale Affair
Another married couple who missed out on the McDonald's wedding night of bliss is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" co-stars Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson. Though they didn't snack on any nuggets over the weekend, the couple did take a bite out of a rumor that gained legs when Perez Hilton suggested an affair is causing the couple to split.
First off, remember Perez Hilton? I haven't heard that name in what feels like a decade.
Anyways, Hilton ran with a rumor that loosely stated the couple was on the outs because McElhenney had an affair with someone in Wales. McElhenny is part-owner of football club, Wrexham AFC.
Dee and Mac wasted little time fessing up to an affair. But, said affair involved a whale, not Wales.
Well played. The gang would be proud.
Before We Get Dehydrated...
This whole "back to work" thing's getting real old, real fast. If you're like me, you've got sangria recipes to pour over and Yao Ming photos to dissect. So let's pause this party until next week.
In the meantime, I apologize for not wishing you all a Happy National Bikini Day earlier. Enjoy the leftovers!
*OutKick’s Nightcaps is a daily column that runs weekdays around 4pm EST.
Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF