Utah grovels to Pat McAfee, WNBA’s brunch game is peak stupid & why you should take your dogs on vacation
'Nightcaps' is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday-Friday on OutKick.com.
One week until Election Day.
Now, don't you go clicking away on me. You did not accidentally stumble upon a column about politics and who you should vote for and what's at stake, blah blah blah.
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No, I'm just here to gripe about something that seems to be a new phenomenon this midterm season: campaign text messages.
Look, I know that if you sign up for a candidate's text messages, you will get inundated with a steady stream of pleads for donations.
But I would never sign up for something like that. So tell me why I get a dozen text messages a day from various state and local politicians — attacking their opponents, begging for my vote, detailing BS stories about how they grew up in a middle-class family where "nothing came easy" and they learned the "real value of a hard day's work."
Delete. Report spam. Every time.
Look, voting is important, and we should all do it. I'm glad to live in a country where we actually get a say in who's making our laws and affecting our quality of life.
But unsolicited campaign text messages should be illegal.
Not to mention they just feel like bad practice. How do you think bombarding me with an endless string of text messages will somehow endear you to me? It actually makes me not want to vote for you.
Is everyone dealing with this right now? Is this a new thing or have I somehow just managed to avoid the onslaught until this campaign season?
November 3 truly can't come soon enough. Next Tuesday, we party.
But until then, let's do some Nightcaps.
Wow oh wow, College GameDay was AWKWARD on Saturday.
It all started with that girl who was chosen for the kicking contest. Now, admittedly, I love the kicking contest. Every Saturday, I yell to my husband, 'It's time for the kick!' and we run into the living room to watch.
This Saturday, I knew it was doomed from the start. As soon as I saw the contestant.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all about girl power. I am, after all, a girl. And I have no doubt there are plenty of women who can kick a 33-yarder. Soccer players obviously come to mind.
But the last couple of times they've had women competing, they've been women with the athleticism of a potato.
This isn't an anti-woman thing. Obviously. Plenty of men have missed, too. But if you — either gender — know you have an absolutely 0% chance of nailing this kick, why even put your name in the raffle? Why embarrass yourself like that?
And to make matters worse, she had the gall to tell Pat McAfee he should be giving her $3 million to make the kick — not the $1 million she was already offered.
Girl.
My skin is crawling with awkwardness.
Anyway, we found out yesterday there was a lot more under the surface about GameDay’s trip to Utah that we didn’t see.
Before the show, Utah’s official social media account posted a video of students doing impressions of Pat, including one calling him "corny" and another saying his shirtless bit was "creepy." Pat said he had no problem with random students roasting him, but he did have a problem with the university itself amplifying it right before he was about to go on national TV and promote their school.
He said the whole thing made him feel "very, very uncomfortable," especially given the very real safety threats he and other public figures face, and even referenced the Charlie Kirk assassination while explaining why it bothered him. By the end of GameDay, Pat picked Houston to beat Utah and told the crowd, "I’ll never see you again, hopefully."
Utah has since apologized, saying the post was meant to be lighthearted but "missed the mark," and that Pat and the GameDay crew are always welcome back.
Something tells me Pat will not be taking them up on that invitation anytime soon.
But what do we think, guys? Was Pat being dramatic? Or is Utah insufferable? Or both?
While we're on the topic of insufferable, though ...
There’s an old saying that goes something like: "A lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."
Someone should print that out and tape it to the front door of WNBA headquarters.
Because Game 6 of the WNBA Finals — a game in which the Golden State Valkyries could literally WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP — will tip off Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
That is 9:30 IN THE MORNING for Golden State fans. Hope nobody scheduled a Zoom meeting.
Here’s how we got here: The Atlanta Dream normally play at the 3,500-seat Gateway Center, but they wanted their Finals games at the much larger State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. The problem is State Farm already had conflicts on every single Atlanta Finals date, including a Hawks-Cavaliers game Thursday night.
The league managed to shuffle Games 3 and 4 around those conflicts, but somehow got all the way to a guaranteed Game 6 before figuring out what the hell to do with this one.
And listen, I understand wanting the bigger arena. But I also understand planning ahead, which apparently no one bothered to do.
The Hawks were always scheduled to play Thursday. This did not sneak up on anybody.
Yet now EVERYONE has to move heaven and earth because the Dream doesn’t want to play the biggest game of its season in its actual home arena.
The Hawks pushed their game back an hour. State Farm Arena employees have to flip the building between games. Broadcast partners have to rearrange programming. Staff, security, vendors, parking attendants and fans all have to adjust.
And the Valkyries’ fan base gets to watch a potential championship celebration on their office laptops while pretending to answer emails at 9:30 a.m. Pacific.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about the situation and joked that it was better than playing at the YMCA in front of 75 people.
He also said he’ll be watching over breakfast.
Which, honestly, sounds lovely. I do love a good brunch.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure my boss is going to let me pop a bottle of champagne and start hammering mimosas at my desk because the WNBA scheduled a potential championship game before lunch.
But wait! It gets better.
Because the Hawks need the arena later that night, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that if Golden State actually clinches the championship Thursday, there may not be enough time for a proper celebration on the State Farm Arena floor.
So they could have to move the party to a practice court.
Imagine that. You win the first championship in franchise history, confetti falls, everybody cries, you lift the trophy …
And then someone comes over the PA:
"Congratulations, ladies. Now please grab your belongings and clear the floor. The Hawks have shootaround."
What an absolute clown show. Par for the course.
Let's open the mailbag.
???? Email: amber.harding@outkick.com (Send your thoughts, stories, tips, rants and photos of your dog.)
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Drew in Katy, TX writes: I saw this on Instagram and thought about all of the places that Rocky gets to see.
I have not seen Rocky pictures in a while or other dog photos/videos for that matter. It's like you are conforming to the Nightcaps sports standard.
We need dogs and other animals at least once per week to break up the monotony. Tell the boss that I said so.
Amber:
Ask and you shall receive. Fortunately, my boss is very pro-dog.
These are some photos from Rocky's adventures the last couple of weekends. We have hit that sweet spot of perfect fall weather here in the South, and the hiking is glorious.
That Instagram post you shared — I couldn't love it more. I'm a big proponent of taking my dog everywhere, and I always have been.
Everywhere he's allowed, I mean. Before anyone comes at me, no, I'm not taking him to the grocery store or fine dining like Kirk Herbstreit.
Anyway, our dogs deserve to experience the world, too. That's the reason we drive 10 hours to see my parents in Florida and 13 hours to see Mike's mom in Wisconsin instead of just jumping on a plane.
At the risk of crying like a baby, I'll share with you a similar video I posted a couple of years ago of my dog, Lucy.
Some of you may remember her story. If you're interested, you can read it here.
She was 15 years old when I filmed that video, and she was diagnosed with cancer three months later. We lost her three months after that. But man, trust me when I tell you that dog lived a life most would envy.
So yeah, it might require a little extra effort to take your dogs with you on trips. And it might not always be super convenient. But it's worth it every single time.
Robert D. writes: Amber your column is in my top 2 of Outkick but it’s been several weeks with no Rocky pictures we need at least one every 2 weeks.
I have sent pictures of our best girl Ruby before and here is one from several years ago on her birthday she didn’t like that hat and next week is her 6th birthday but promised her never that style again. Tell Rocky hello!
Amber:
Please give birthday girl Ruby extra pets and a big steak on behalf of Nightcaps. No hats this time! Although she does look bonita.
Brad S. writes: I love the animal stuff you add to NightCaps! Here's one I thought you'd like:
Amber:
This video reminds me of a time I encountered a camel in Arizona.
Stick with me — I'm getting somewhere.
I was about 14 years old, and we were in some hokey, touristy wild west town with my volleyball team. They had a camel chilling in the town square. Apparently a nod to a U.S. Army experiment that brought camels to Arizona as pack animals sometime in the 1880s.
The camel was tied up with a handler standing next to him (or her — I didn't check), and there was a HUGE sign warning people not to approach.
But morons are gonna moron. So it was no shocker when some lady with two toddlers in tow marched right up and stuck a big ol' camera in that camel's face.
Guess how that ended.
Friends, I wish my flip phone took video back then because I'd rewatch that camel spitting a massive, fist-sized loogie onto that woman's head over and over again. Followed by her falling backward, shrieking and swatting at the animal as if it were going to maul her.
The handler deadpanned right at the woman and said, matter-of-factly, "That's why we have the sign."
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My guess is he watched that exact scenario go down about 12 times a day.
So on a related note, let's end today's column by throwing it back to this classic: