Playmate Kendra Wilkinson Has A New Look & Snaps On The Trolls, NFL Fans Fight Each Other & Look At This Deer!
We 100% have a quarterback crisis in America
— Lee D. in Tampa writes:
We have a quarterback crisis in America. If Carson Beck is getting $4 million for a season, then it's time to rethink things.
Wouldn't it be cheaper for college programs to start mining third-world countries for quarterbacks sort of like college basketball started doing in the 1980s? Have camps set up in Taiwan, Africa, India, Brazil, Germany, Spain, etc. Bring a kid into IMG in Bradenton to hone his skills for a year and offer him like $5 million for four years.
At worst, programs could use these camps to help build their brand (and sell gear) and maybe satisfy the eggheads who run the schools with a couple of academic scholarships. Perhaps they find a couple of receivers or running backs or linebackers along the way, too.
The $4 million for Beck is not factoring in the hidden costs. It smells like Miami pulled a Bear Bryant. He would offer girlfriends softball and cheerleading scholarships to lure players to Tuscaloosa. How much money did Nevin Shapiro drop on the Cavinder Twins to help coerce Beck to Coral Gables?
A Screencaps reader learns that reviving his high school baseball program from the dead is a helluva challenge
Here's how this all started:
— Dominic provides an update:
Here's my second update on how the last 4 months have been as coach- Good and ROUGH!
First the good:
We have 25 that came to our initial meeting back in the fall. We nearly have a full schedule for varsity and JV this upcoming season. We don't have a conference so we're basically UCONN football with the budget. I have assembled a full coaching staff plus two consultants for the upcoming season. We were able to find a set of lockers for our shed that our players will be able to use to store their equipment and belongings for practice and games. We start our winter workouts this Monday to start ramping up before the season.
Now the rough:
We're still lacking essential equipment for this upcoming season. Pitching screens, hitting screens, helmets, gloves, a working piece of equipment to drag our field that was neglected for nearly 4 years, pitching mound material, a batting cage (the indoor cage was removed by the previous AD and all baseball resources gutted), etc.
It is a very long list of things we need to be ready for day 1. Our plan was to hold a charitable poker fundraiser next month, with a portion of the proceeds going towards purchasing these items.
However, I was informed by my Athletic Director that the school and district view this as a form of gambling and therefore, do not want to us to hold our event. We do have other fundraisers lined up, but at this time, I cannot get enough kids signed up in order to start this.
The commitment level from the students, but more from the staff, has been very challenging.
Maybe 20% of the students that have expressed interest, are actually committed. I have reached out to the staff numerous times to help spread the word about meetings, strength and conditioning, and our upcoming workouts, only to be ignored.
When talking with my AD about the issues, I get nothing more than apathy for the students. The school is roughly 80% Hispanic and over 60% of students received free or reduced lunch.
We don't have the high income economics that most of the other schools located in Aurora, CO.
Yes, the TDA gang apartment locations are located within two blocks of the school.
When trying to establish a new culture moving forward, I proposed a dress code for workouts and practice. I was told I could not do this, because it could damage the students' feelings of inclusion and deter them from participating.
How I hate the woke mindset.
If you have a job, we're expected to dress the part and be prepared. My day job outside of baseball is working at an above-ground mine. We don't let anyone just go do something unless they are properly trained and safely equipped with the correct attire and tools. I don't get why trying to set this example to students on how the real world operates would hurt their feelings.
My coaches and I have considered starting a GoFundMe to help with getting equipment, as we have no idea what type of budget I'm able to use provided by the district. But we still face an uphill battle to be ready by spring.
With your large audience at Outkick, would it be possible to help us in any way to get the equipment and resources needed to be ready for the season? At this point, I'm almost considering standing on a street corner with a sign and hat to try and purchase batting helmets.
Kinsey:
- Dominic told me in September that his team has jerseys, game balls, and a portable batting cage.
- This batting helmet thing has me wondering if these kids have ever played baseball before. Don't they already have batting helmets? Is there a rule that the helmets all have to be the same color?
- I get that you're still lacking equipment like pitching screens and hitting screens, but this sounds like stuff you might have to work for in the future. Put out announcements on Facebook. Ask if anyone has a screen they need to unload. Ask other coaches if they're dumping some of this equipment at a cheap price or no price at all.
- The goal here should be to get the team on the field and then build from there. You're going to look like the Bad News Bears, but that's life.
- Are the kids required to have their own helmets? Can you get away with five helmets to get you through the season?
My advice:
Stop focusing on the stuff that you don't have and make do. Get creative working around things you don't have. You're a rec program, not the high-level travel ball program.
- You have a program.
- You have 25 boys ready to play.
- You're probably going to get your heads beat in, but you gave those boys a high school baseball season. Cherish the small victories. Work towards the big-ticket items.
- Head down.
This is a good time for Dominic to read about how Barstool Vindog built a rec baseball league. You just have to make it work.
Well, well, well…look at what we have here
Friday night's game
— Honorary Sheriff Big John in Houston writes:
You might not have guessed this, but I am a HUGE longhorn fan. Several family members went there and I would have gone there way back when had the Harvard football opportunity not come up at the last minute. So, I tell people that I legitimately have two favorite CFB teams. (My son is going to be able to say the same thing...).
Anyway, on the game... I legitimately have no problem with the result. not even that disappointed. The better team won. We've been shaky on offense most of the year and I think a lot of Texas fans didn't expect to win on Friday night. We wasted a legit championship defense this year. I love Quinn and his dedication to the program, but he's iffy sometimes and I'm ready to see Arch fulltime now. Vaya con dios, Quinn, good luck in the NFL.
Nonetheless, the Bucknuts made two more big plays in the game and that was the difference. The better team won and the best part is that the referees called a really clean and fair game for both teams... unlike that travesty in Atlanta where everyone in the country - including the referees - was rooting for ASU and doing their damndest to help them win. (Yeah, they missed the targeting call on Taffe.... let's talk about ASU's own missed targeting call, the ignored obvious purposeful OPI on that lunkhead Scattebo, three offensive linemen in the endzone on the 2 pt conversion, Lunkhead literally getting carried over the goal line on his final TD, and their offensive line egregiously holding on every single play... and then I'll discuss Taffe's missed targeting).
But as far as tOSU goes, the better team won.
— Chris in Commerce, MI says:
Congrats on making it to the Natty. I think the only prayer ND has is this.
They need to run some kind of Psyops and have Lou Holtz start doing all kinds of interviews saying they’re soft and Ryan Day can’t build a tough program. Bring in Harbs and have him pacing around in the background chiming in every fourth or fifth word like Flava Flav.
If they can’t do that, Ohio by 27.
— Indy Daryl checks in:
Long time since I last sent in, but had to congratulate you and the buckeyes for a well played Cotton Bowl! Was a really fun game to watch and while I was definitely rooting for Texas, I can say I’m happy for you. Will I be cheering for ND come championship? You bet I will, my irrational hated of OSU won’t go down easy!!
Even though we have about 13" of snow on the ground, and got another 2-3" this afternoon, nothing can get my grilling spirits down. Grilled two of the last three evenings and had a great sunset to boot! I know it not Guy from upstate New York level of snow of technique, but for Indy and me it’s quite a lot.
And you better believe I am ecstatic about my donkeys making the playoffs!! Go Broncos!!!
The Pussification of Sledding: Don't use inner tubes, a doc says
This is what people are referencing: My post that I simply titled, "The Pussification of Sledding."
— UNLV Doc would like a word with me:
Joe: I love OK and your work, TY for all that.
Regarding sledding-ish activities, I generally agree with you with one caveat, don't ride inner tubes.
While an anesthesiology resident at the University of Utah in 1976 I anesthetized a BMOC high school senior with a broken neck secondary to riding a big inner tube (not a sled) down a hill. For the first couple of weeks, his room was packed, then the crowd thinned down to a handful, then just his girlfriend, and then family from time to time.
It was awful as the former honor student and DI recruited athlete atrophied away with his quadriplegia. I left the program for LAC/USC/MC and a surgery residency but he is one of a few patients I often wonder about.
So...I banned my kids from riding inner tubes; you can't steer them. Even so, my #2 son Tim, out of 9 total offspring, chose not to listen to me when he was a scout here in LV, NV. The troop went sledding up at Mt. Charleston and before I left the hill for town I told Tim to: "Watch out for that tree," pretty much the only dangerous thing on the course. About 30 minutes later I fielded a call from another leader that Tim had run into a tree and broken his arm, actually a comminuted elbow fracture, a bad injury.
Well, Tim is now an anesthesiologist/attorney in Austin and just got his surgical center accredited. He impressively built it from conception to accreditation in 3.5 years. However, he still has the look of a hemi-T-Rex on one side. He also got knocked off his bike in a crosswalk on the way to school one time...I was picking windshield glass shards out of his head for a month.
He's pretty smart but historically a goofball from time to time.
— John W. asks:
Saw your sledding article - do kids still grab a car fender and go slushing/siitching/bumper jacking/bumper skiing? No padding or headgear.
On Mikayla Demaiter
— Otis in Mobile has a way with words:
I for one, do not care if she is AI. I would still drink her bathwater. If she is AI, might get electrocuted. Still worth it.
Estepona, Spain grocery store
— Mike T. shows us another beer aisle and adds in a fresh squeezed station:
Fresh squeezed, Pomegranate, lemon and orange juice machines
http://traftonseuropeantour20242025.com/2025/01/11/1-11-2025-cordoba-spain/
Is there a spy novel series out there that you guys recommend?
— JW asks:
Hey Joe. I was reading one of your screencaps and you suggested a spy novel series. I didn’t write it down and I can’t find the cap I read it from. Can you help me out?
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
The Travel Ball Hardos are now ganging up on me
— Travel Ball Hardo Chris B. in Houston teams up with Britt:
Ataboy Britt! Let hater Joe have it! Ha! Joe & I often don't agree about select / travel ball things but I love that we are reasonable adults that can have amicable dialogue about it. And while I'm giving out ataboys, Joe is a hell of a guy as he doesn't just banter with me... he sometimes posts opinions like mine that he doesn't agree with in his world famous screencaps. Great stuff. Anyhoo...
There are certainly shitty parts to select ball as many of the teams & families do alot of things wrong in my opinion (for one example, queue the highlight of Clay Travis getting kicked out of a youth ballpark for f-bombing the ump at his son's game).
We were blessed to have a great group of families that managed our select team and controlled everything the way we wanted it. We hosted an awesome tournament to raise money for our trip to Cooperstown, but otherwise funded everything ourselves. And it sounds like Britt's son & mine took similar paths in that they played both neighborhood rec ball & select ball.
My son's experiences playing in the rec league against his select teammates were fantastic, and it was similarly fun for me to coach his rec team against other coach dads that I spent alot of select tournament time with in our lawn chairs behind backstops and in VRBOs. And I still sit next to many of those other dads on barstools regularly.
Some may scoff at the term, but our 'baseball family' is real. Our boys are seniors now and most of them are still playing. A few of the boys are pursuing opportunities to play beyond high school, but for many of them this Spring will likely be their last baseball hurrah. Whichever sport(s) your kid plays, enjoy every minute of it. It goes by faaaaast.
In defense of James Franklin
— Zach W. says:
To the idiot that wrote yesterday about "Big Game James" (Franklin), living up to his reputation": 1.) James Franklin lead his team to the CFP semifinals by beating two top 10 teams. If he would've "lived up to his reputation", PSU wouldn't have gotten out of the first round. 2.) Penn State's QB and WR play were atrocious, which was not his fault.
I'm not a big Franklin fan, but some of these criticisms are absurd. Some of these other ranked programs would kill for the level of success he's had.