Sydney Thomas Graduates From Bama & Immediately Goes To Work Influencing, Robot Attacks Handler & Man Vs Gator
This morning, I learned Mrs. Screencaps didn't get the No. 3 edition of the Screencaps newsletter that she signed up for, so, yes, figuring out what's up is on my agenda
The open rate for the second newsletter was 68%. If newsletters aren't hitting inboxes, we can't get that open rate to 95%, where I want the open rate to sit. That means I have to be vigilant here. Mrs. Screencaps stars in the No. 3 edition of the newsletter. I need her to see what I wrote about her.
In other news, newsletter sign-ups were UP 10% last week, which is big because so many of you Screencaps lifers signed up weeks ago. The momentum is continuing.
If you didn't read this week's newsletter, you missed ‘Fishman’s' memories with Dale Earnhardt. His stories are great. Go open that newsletter and RAISE the open rate. The marketing team is watching those numbers like a hawk watching its prey.
And if you're not signed up, get your ass in gear: SIGN UP HERE!
— Scott J. got the newsletter:
Just letting you know I got the newsletter. It was excellent.
Thanks Big Dog(I think we should all call you that now)
Kinsey:
Now, if you read Scott's message and you don't know what he's referencing, IT'S BECAUSE YOU EITHER DIDN'T GET SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER, THE NEWSLETTER NEVER MADE IT TO YOU OR….YOU DIDN'T OPEN THE DAMN NEWSLETTER WHICH WOULD RAISE THE OPEN RATE AND IMPRESS THE HELL OUT OF THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT.
Thank you for that message, Scott. I will let Dapper John know that you approve of my new nickname from my AI assistant.
— Buster D. writes:
Good afternoon!! Does Mrs Screencaps have a FB page devoted to her plants, sharing tips, processes, insights. Does she do peppers, veggies, or fruit? My wife will graduate from working full time to retirement in July. The past couple of yrs her veggies have taken a hit due to last yrs heat,(we live in Fla), and the passing of our son. She's looking forward to jumping back in with 3 above ground beds. Thank you for your daily column.
Kinsey:
Again, those of you who opened the newsletter understand why Buster's so excited over Mrs. Screencaps' grow op.
Buster, I told her you said she should become a bigger force around here and now she's thinking about how to do that. Hang tight. I'll dedicate a section of the newsletter to her operation this summer.
Spring Training is officially over. Now it's time to see how this Rec Ball team performs over the next 2 ½ months
Last night was our final tune-up before we get the season started on Saturday morning.
Highlights:
- My sixth-best pitcher, a right-hander who has been with me for a couple of years, decided he was going to try to pitch from the stretch with his left foot crossed over his back foot against the pitching rubber. His dad tells me later that the boy saw the motion on YouTube and that he told him not to mess around with it in the game. Guess what the boy decided to do during the scrimmage? Yep, he tried the crossed-over foot thing. It was a mess.
- My No. 1 threw great. I'd say he maxed out at 15 pitches in his one inning. Huge baseball IQ. This is his second year with me and he's a franchise foundational piece.
- Will I really use six pitchers this year? 100%. I've been reading up on youth pitching analytics & arm health from Tom House and he says 60 pitches really should be the limit. The ROI after 60 pitches in a game drops off considerably, according to House. My plan is to throw multiple arms in May and build to the end of the season. The league has an 85-pitch weekly limit.
- Daddy Ball Report: Screencaps Jr. threw one inning, gave up a couple of runs on a nice hit, but he did what I said and got the ball over the plate. He's just going to be an innings eater.
- My 11-year-old project player, who has never played an official organized game of baseball in his life, pitched one inning, gave up a run and threw much, much better than his first try. If I can get him to lower his release point, he's going to be a huge pitching asset. It's going to be critical to get him into games early in the year to build experience and stack successes.
- Hitting: Major concern. We need live reps. Lots of live reps.
- Nobody quit in the middle of the game. That's a positive. I did have a kid tell me his elbow was in so much pain that he couldn't throw a ball. We haven't had a practice in 9 days. I have no clue how he had pain in his elbow when he can barely throw the ball 20 feet.
- Kids who can barely hit a ball to the second baseman questioning the strike zone will never not be funny, especially when they're looking at three strikes and never took the bat off their shoulder. Parents: Remind your kids who don't swing that they shouldn't question the strike zone.
- We faced a 12-year-old kid last night who threw probably 25-28 pitches in an inning. I'd say over half of those were curveballs.
Metallica at Va. Tech
— Richard writes:
We’re all from somewhere. Might’ve been my lead in the last time I reached out to you, but still holds true. There’s things about where we’re all from that we love, miss (if you’re like me & have moved away), drive you nuts, etc. However, for me tonight, this night was a little different. My tiny little dot of a hometown was center stage.
I spent my childhood living, breathing, hanging on every moment all things Hokie football. I could see the very stadium from my backyard. Like most kids who put on a set of shoulder pads at the earliest of ages we all think of playing professionally at some point.
A kid can dream.
There’s also a select few who choose the route of playing an instrument with hopes of filling an arena. A kid can dream. As someone who played football at a mediocre level yet remained passionate about it his entire life & who was fortunate enough to have parents buy him a guitar because he was equal parts delusional & stubborn about being good at it having the intersection of watching Metallica in my tiny little hometown in the same stadium I grew up in was a surreal moment.
Just a cool thing to come back home to. No clue how old the guys are (I guess the internet would tell me but I’m too lazy to look), the guys just put on an insanely good show & sound as good, if not better than any recording after decades of doing just that. Hopefully there’s videos out there that attempt to do justice for the intensity of this show. I’m just not your guy for that. Phone stayed in my pocket the entire show.
Yes they played Enter Sandman which has become a de facto anthem on campus (side note: not even a top 3 Metallica song for me 1) sad but true-played it 2) turn the page-not played 3) until it sleeps-not played). Metallica & The Masters in less than a months time? Been a nice few weeks for me. Very fortunate for sure. Congrats to any others out there able to experience these life victories as well & can’t wait to hear your tales.
Help Mike in CT find a new place to live
— Mike writes:
I've had enough of Connecticut, thinking of moving when my oldest graduates high school next June. Looking for a place with warm weather and varsity girls field hockey. Low state income taxes and club girls ice hockey would be nice too. Any screencappers got ideas?
Kinsey:
Mike, a bunch of people are moving to the Johnson City, TN area. I don't know how the field hockey is, but being that close to Virginia and North Carolina has to be a positive for the field hockey side of things. You'll get the warmer weather, some views and a growing area that the Johnson City Gang can't stop raving about.
I don't know about the Tennessee income taxes.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my Gmail
Voice-Over Guy Mike L. reacts to NBC using more and more voiceovers for its sports division
— Mike in California responds:
Yeah, it's a hot topic. We have organizations fighting to keep our voices from being regenerated via AI. Quite often, we get auditions that state "in perpetuity", which most won't send in an audition because of the probability of it being used with AI.
I imagine if the voice is not manipulated and is the intellectual property of the organization, they'd be able to get away with it, in the case of an announcer who's passed.
I have friends whose voices have been used for projects without consent, and never got paid for those. A friend in Florida had to call a client and the guy thought that it was okay, since he recorded for him before. He ultimately got paid, but it was a learning experience.
The hope is that those that hire us will prefer to work with actual human voices, but I think ultimately, there will be more AI voices in the marketplace, if anything because it will probably be cheaper.
— Wes P. in Texas checks in:
Regarding AI broadcasters, I'd pay extra to hear games called by Sumrall and Madden again. Other names I'd love to hear resurrected are Dick Enberg, Brent Musburger, Mike Patrick and Keith Jackson. I'm too young to have heard Howard Cosell call games, but it would be fascinating to hear an AI version of his voice calling Monday Night Football. I wonder if we'll ever get to the point where you can pay for an optional broadcast of games called by AI versions of the old guys. I doubt it, but you never know.
— Steve shares his list of AI voices he's ready to bring back & put living humans out of business:
Hey Joe. This is a perfect SC exercise- especially for us nostalgic OG sports fans. I grew up with these voices and I miss their unique styles and perspectives:
College Football- Keith Jackson
Baseball- Vin Scully
NFL Sunday Football- John Madden/Pat Summerall
NFL Monday Night Football- Howard Cosell/Don Meredith
Basketball- Marv Albert
Any Sport Aired on Saturday- Jim McKay
Wildlife- Marlon Perkins
Honorable Mentions
Bob Uecker
Curt Gowdy
Dick Enburg
— Patrick C. in Perrysburg has his own list:
These are a few of the voices I would love to hear again. And if we’re bringing back voices with AI, can we do the same with old ballparks? Let’s start with Tiger Stadium!
- Ernie Harewell & Paul Carey
- George Kell & Al Kaline
- Tony Roberts – Notre Dame Football
- Pat Summerall
- Keith Jackson
— Mark in Tennessee suggests a voice that I would 100% be up for bringing back from the dead:
If we were going to bring back legendary broadcast voices via AI (and I am neither for or against this right now), then I think the one at the top of the list should John Facenda, the "Voice of God" who narrated NFL Films. I remember listening to him as a kid and getting excited about the upcoming football season. He was a classic. Here is a YouTube video of one of his best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh6E4Cks1W4
Thanks for all you do from "the heart of it all" to bring together the Screencaps nation.
— Mark in Tucson suggests another one I'm all for bringing back from the dead:
I would pay to reincarnate Harry Caray... he'll always reminds me of my sleep-deprived college years, class during the day and waiting tables at night, with maybe an hour to nap between. I'd put the Cubs on WGN and drift in and out of sleep for whatever ridiculously short amount of time I had. He was both soothing and excitable, and I could nap knowing he'd wake me up if there was a big play. I'd also pay to hear Don Dunphy call UFC fights: Can you imagine Rogan and Dunphy in the same booth?
— Tyler V. says bring back Keith Jackson to call big games:
Oh man, it’s KEITH JACKSON! I remember being 12 years old and LOSING MY MIND to this call of George Teague taking the ball from Miami’s Lamar Thomas! I’d certainly pay to hear that man call big games again.
The Cart Narc is in NW Ohio, which means Cart Narcs is about to go on a historic content run
Why would Cart Narcs come to NW Ohio? Because they know a content hotbed when they see one. Do you know how many parking lots there are in NW Ohio? A bunch. Do you know how many idiots there are in this area? A lot.
This state doesn't play games when it comes to creating content. Cart Narcs gets it.
#############
That is it for this lake breeze Thursday in May when it's 20 degrees warmer 50 miles south of us.
But, that's life and we're going to hang in there. It will be fall-like tonight for my TNML mow. Let's go have a strong day and then connect with our turf.
Go get after it.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my personal Gmail.